Over the Cliffside
by sassywriterchick
Summary: AU / When she decided to go to Hearst, she certainly wasn't expecting Logan Echolls to ask her to figure out who really killed Lily Kane—LoganVeronica
1. A New Case

a/n: okay so this idea just _wouldn't_ leave me alone. I know I've written like three VeronicaLogan one-shots in the past week, but I love these two idiots so much I'm seriously addicted. Especially because Logan Echolls is now one of my favorite fictional characters of _all time_. He's perfect (In a fucked-up sort of way)

So this little ficlet is very AU. It's set in a universe where Veronica never meets Logan until college, when he goes to her for help in figuring out who really killed Lily Kane. So yeahJ

Veronica Mars doesn't know exactly what she's expecting when she decides to go to Hearst College. Granted, she knows the reputation the college has put forth, including the several highly publicized rapes, and the overall seediness of the town the college was placed in, didn't really make it seem like a viable 'safe choice'. She doesn't really know what's influenced her to go down this route instead of a much more respectable path (i.e. _Stanford_) but something in her gut is telling her that Hearst is where she wants to be. She plays it off as merely wanting to go where her best friend Piz is going, but she can feel it's something else. Something that's _pulling_ her there.

"I don't see why we couldn't just have taken an apartment together," Piz grumbles as he stops the car outside of student housing. Veronica rolls her eyes at him; they've been over this conversation at least _thirty_ times in the three-hour drive from their hometown to here.

"Because I'm a girl and you're a guy," Veronica supplies helpfully, but the real reason is because if she were staying with Piz, it would practically be writing _Not Available _on her forehead in permanent marker. Not that Veronica was particularly interested in hooking up with anyone, but she liked to keep her options open. Rooming with Piz would be doing practically the opposite.

"And I also can't believe you took so little stuff," Piz adds, as she lifts up the back door to his van.

"I didn't need it until my dad brought the rest down."

"Of course you didn't."

Piz has seemed more frustrated with her lately and Veronica can't really put her finger on _why_ he's acting odd. Piz has been her only friend since her sophomore year of high school, and he was a good friend. He was loyal, kind; never let a smile drop from her face, everything you could really want in a _friend_. Needless to say, his new brash attitude was starting to annoy her.

She takes her box of things into her arms. It's true that she hasn't taken a ton of things with her, but it's only because her Dad is bringing down the rest of the stuff she has packed a week later since it wouldn't all fit in Piz's van, and Veronica wasn't inclined to hear another lecture on rejecting Stanford by taking her Dad's car.

"I'm going to go find my room," she tells Piz, who merely shrugs and takes some of his stuff into his arms. _Whatever_.

Veronica starts heading towards the girl's section of student housing, holding her box more tightly to her chest as if she can keep off any prying eyes. She'd be lying if she said the rapes didn't scare her, it's not exactly something that can really make you feel totally _safe_ in your new environment.

Of course, lying at the top of her box is her ever-helpful Taser, so she figures that if anyone tries to pull anything she can always give them a couple hundred watts of electricity.

Once inside the building, it only takes her a couple minutes to find her room. Veronica's always been good with directions, and it definitely takes her less time than your average Joe to find the small black door.

"Hello?" Veronica knocks on the door, setting her box by her feet. The door opens, and standing in the doorway is a girl around her height, with long brown hair.

"Are you my roommate?"

"I think so," Veronica replies, bending to pick up her box. "Cindy, right?"

"I go by Mac," the girl answers, stepping aside so Veronica can enter her room. "I assume you're Veronica?"

"You assumed right," Veronica smiles. Mac has claimed one side of the room already, so Veronica sets her box of spare clothes onto the other bed.

"Do you have other stuff?" Mac asks, resuming her unpacking on the other side of the room. Veronica shakes her head.

"Not for another week."

"Macster!" a voice from the doorway booms, and a tall blonde guy dressed as the stereotypical 'surfer dude' swung into the room. Mac winces as he throws an arm around her.

"I asked you not to call me that," she protests feebly, but the guy pays no attention as his gaze fixes on Veronica.

"Is that your roommate?" he asks.

"Veronica."

"Nice to meet ya," Dick says, giving her a wink. "Nice to know the Macster has a hot roommate!"

Veronica is trying to come up with a suitable comment to go with this new development, and Mac looks like she's going to die of embarrassment, when Piz appears in the doorway.

"Veronica, I just got my stuff stolen out of my van!" he says, stepping into the room with someone she assumes is his new roommate.

_Here we go again. _Veronica's father is the local PI in their small town, and Veronica has picked up a couple things from watching him work. What had started out as her just helping find someone's missing dog has turned into a quick way to make cash, and usually it was just something silly like finding out who stole her best friends stuff. She hadn't exactly been planning on picking up any new cases…especially after her disastrous last one…but it really couldn't hurt, could it?

Veronica smiles, finally feeling in her element again. "Let me see what I can do," she tells him.

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It's month two of being at Hearst, and Veronica has already gained quite the reputation at helping people fix their problems. It seems that Neptune is quite the place for making money as a PI, and Veronica almost contemplates telling her Father about all the potential money opportunities he has here. Then, she remembers that he wouldn't be very happy that she was investigating at all—so she throws that idea out. It's not like she should really be doing this in the first place.

She and Mac have a steady friendship, but not one that generally transcends the limits of their dorm room. She knows that the blonde man, despite his forward nature, is actually Mac's boyfriend, that she loves computers and hacking, and has a single friend named Logan. Dick apparently has it firmly rooted in his brain that Veronica and Logan should go out, and brings it up to her at every available opportunity. Of course, Veronica has never even met this Logan person before, so she always politely declines Dick's attempts to get them to go on a double date. That isn't how she works.

She's set up her 'office' or the place where people can track her down to get favors (which is what she liked to call them even if she was charging them) on a park bench on the south side of campus. She sat there during lunch, occasionally between classes, and a variety of other times when she wasn't working on a case.

She's reading a rather boring manuscript for one of her classes when someone slides next to her.

"Are you the famous Veronica Mars everyone keeps talking about?" a male voice asks her, one that rings sarcasm with every syllable.

"That would be me," she nods, placing her papers on her lap and turning to look at her newest 'client'.

She's expecting it to be a boy, she's not _stupid _and can normally tell a male voice from a female voice, but what she's not expecting is the attractiveness of the boy sitting next to her. She can tell he's _ripped_ through the maroon long sleeved shirt he's wearing; his brown hair is gelled into careful spikes, and his brown eyes can only be described as _luminous_.

"I need your help with something," he says quickly, "But it's kind of delicate and I would rather not discuss it in the open."

"Okay," Veronica agrees easily, a lot of the people who want her help don't want other people eavesdropping, and she understands why of course. She's assuming he's trying to figure out if his girlfriend's cheating on him, that's usually what it is anyways. "Where do you want to meet?"

"I don't know…where do you generally meet for stuff like this?" his knee bounces up and down, but he's not the first nervous person to be asking her for help.

"Dog beach."

"Okay, then tonight at five?" he asks her and she nods. He stands up to leave, and she gets up too.

"First though, what's your name?" Veronica asks, handing him her phone. He looks down at the device almost like he's never seen it before. "Enter in your number in case I need to cancel last minute."

"Admit it," he smirks, "You just want my number."

"You got me."

He quickly punches in a name and number, and hands her back the phone. Staring at the name, she gives a start of recognition. When her eyes flicker up to meet his, he looks wary, like he's expecting for her to melt all over him or something.

"You wouldn't happen to be Dick's friend?" she asks curiously, and he frowns.

"That's not usually the name I'm associated with, but yes I suppose I am 'Dick's friend', although god forbid I ever have to go by that name again."

"Tonight at five?"

The boy she now knows as Logan Echolls nods, smiling. "See you then," he says walking away.

Veronica isn't a fool, she knows who Aaron Echolls' is, and she assumes that Logan is his son judging by his reaction. Still, it wasn't like she was one of his Fangirls, she wasn't about to start freaking the boy out by jumping up and down. She wasn't some morbid fan girl, and she knew how it felt to get labeled by who your parents were. It was part of the reason she had gotten away from her hometown as fast as possible.

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Veronica had chosen Dog Beach because it was generally a place where people left other people alone—unless you had a dog. Veronica longingly thought of her dog Backup, knowing that he would've have loved the beach here. Sadly, the student housing had a strict 'no pets' policy, and her beloved pit-bull was still at home.

She spots Logan at once, but it's only because he's leaning against his car—a bright yellow Xterra that sticks out like a sore thumb. She walks up to him, smiling.

"Let's take a walk," she jabs behind her with her thumb, and he warily follows her out onto the beach.

"Just so you are aware, this is not a date," he says from behind her, and her smile turns into a scowl.

"That full of ourselves, are we?"

"Well my beauty _has_ been known to make ladies lose their minds before. "

"Charming."

"I assume you're wondering why I'm hiring you?" his brown eyes are staring out at the ocean, and Veronica fidgets nervously with the edge of her sweater. It is true that she's wondering, but if she's learned anything, it's that people won't talk until they want to.

"You assume correct."

"Have you heard of the Lily Kane murder?" he asks abruptly, and she stops in her tracks. She isn't expecting the conversation to take such a turn, and for a moment it throws her. She quickly composes herself and turns to look at him.

"Yeah, I think the whole world heard about that."

"I want you to find out who killed her," he says it in a rush, like he's going to get arrested for simply coming up with the idea. Veronica's mouth falls open and she simply stares at him for a second.

"I thought her murder was already solved," she says, resuming their walk. He continues with her, now that he's said why he wants her help he seems more relaxed. "Didn't someone die for it?"

"Yeah," Logan says, "But it doesn't make sense. There's just something—something _wrong_."

She frowns to herself. Her Dad had always said that solving the Kane murder case was to easy, and she doesn't really see why Logan would lie about this. But solving a _murder_? That was on an entirely different level than finding someone's _dog_.

"Why?" she asks.

"Why what?"

"Why do you want me to figure this out?"

"Because Lily Kane was my girlfriend," Logan says, and his brown eyes are fixed on the ocean. "The man who was charged, it doesn't make _sense._ I just can't wrap my head around it. There's something wrong, and I need you to figure out _what_."

"Okay," she agrees, surprising herself. Maybe it's the look in Logan's eyes as he tells her he was Lily's boyfriend, or maybe it's the thrill of a new case, but she accepts. "Then why me?"

"Because you didn't grow up here. And you seem good at what you do."

"How much?"

"Free of charge," Veronica says, and when he starts to protest she lifts up a hand. "All I'm asking is that when I need muscle, you're my muscle." She doesn't know if she can figure this out in the first place, and she doesn't want to run him dry of his money for nothing.

"So I'm basically your underpaid bodyguard?" he asks, and there's a glint of amusement back in his eyes.

"That's exactly what you are."


	2. Ice Cream and Obsessions

a/n: Thank you for the amazing feedback! I'm glad to see that people like this story. Since we're still in the beginning stages, I'm updating it right away-but I doubt I'll be able to update every day. School and all that stuff. I hope you guys like this!

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"What were you doing on the beach with Logan Echolls?" Piz demands of her at breakfast in the mess hall the next morning.

"Well good morning to you too," Veronica says, a little disgruntled. She pokes at her cereal, swishing around the soggy flakes with her spoon. "So did you decide to start stalking me? Am I going to have to get a restraining order?" she's joking, but Piz tenses at her words.

"I was with Wallace. My roommate remember? We were flying his plane," Piz explains.

"It's for a case."

"So you're working for _Logan Echolls_ now?" Piz seems disgruntled by the thought.

"What's wrong with that?" Veronica asks, popping a bite of cereal into her mouth.

"I don't like him."

"Oh I'm sorry _Dad_," she says, starting to get annoyed. "Should I have checked in with you before hand?"

"Yes, you should have, because I'm your _best friend _Veronica."

"I don't really see what that has to do with anything," Veronica shrugs, "It was just for a case I'm working on with him. Purely business."

"And that case is?"

"You know I can't really tell you that."

"Of course you can't."

"Are you feeling okay? Because I don't remember you having such a stick up your ass before. Logan is perfectly nice, alright?"

"Highlighting my many qualities again?" Logan's voice speaks up from behind her, and he drops into the seat next to her, a smirk toying at his mouth.

"You wish," Veronica says. "What's your poison Echolls?"

"I thought you might want to talk more about my…" Logan hesitates and glances at Piz. "My _case_." Veronica nods thoughtfully.

"That would be helpful. Pick me up at my dorm room at three? We'll talk somewhere else."

"Sounds good," Logan says, and then leaves the table. Veronica pretends not to notice Piz glaring at her while they finish their breakfast.

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"Hey Ronnie," Dick says as Veronica enters the room, carefully shutting the door behind her. "What's up?"

"Mac isn't here," Veronica says, "So why are you?"

"That hurts Ronnie. That hurts real bad. Don't you want me here?"

"No."

Dick takes her insult with a shrug, leaning back against Mac's pillows. "I'm waiting for Mac," he explains, and Veronica nods.

"Well I'm only going to be here for a couple minutes," Veronica says, checking the time. Five minutes until three.

"Meeting a hot date?"

"Something like that," she says absently, checking her phone. Three missed messages from Piz, and two from her Dad. She listens to the voicemails from her Dad, but they're mostly just 'checking in'. She texts him that she's fine but busy, and ignores the ones from Piz. She's still slightly annoyed about the way he was acting this morning, and doesn't want to get in with it right now when she should be figuring out one of the biggest murder cases of the century.

There's a knock on the door and Veronica opens it. Logan's on the other side, still wearing a long sleeved shirt even though it was really hot outside.

"Logan?" Dick sat up, suddenly very interested. "Are you Ronnie's hot date?"

Logan merely looked at Veronica. "Ronnie?" he inquires.

"He won't stop calling me that," she shook her head. "Even though I absolutely _despise_ it." She gives Dick the evil eye, but he merely shrugs.

"Veronica's too boring."

"Ready?" Logan asks, and she nods.

"Hey, are you two hooking up now?" Dick asks, "Because I can leave if you want to get busy."

"It's a very professional relationship," Veronica assures him as she grabs her coat. She isn't really sure where they're going to talk, and she wants to be prepared.

"Is that supposed to be a dirty joke or something?" Dick adds, and Veronica quickly exits the room, closing the door tightly behind her.

"I would apologize for my roommates boyfriend," she says, "But since he's your friend…"

Logan laughs a genuine laugh, and Veronica blushes when she realizes that it's actually a really beautiful laugh; like he's shocked that she's said something funny and amused all at once.

"Dick is a dick," Logan agrees, and Veronica snorts slightly.

"So where are we headed to, cowboy?"

"Cowboy?"

"Don't like my southern references?" she inquires, shaking her head slightly. "Because I've got a hatful of them."

"Very funny," Logan says sarcastically. "I was thinking we could go to get ice cream."

"Ice cream?"

He shrugs, looking slightly embarrassed. "I figured it'll be loud enough that nobody can hear us talking, and you're new to this town, right?"

Veronica nodded.

"Well then you probably haven't been to the best ice cream shop in town."

"I don't think I have," she admits, "I don't exactly have the time or money for these sort of things."

When they reach Logan's bright car, he helps her into the passenger seat and they set off down the highway. Her hair blows around her face as they drive, and she watches Logan's face as they go discreetly out of the corner of her eye.

He's decidedly an odd one, she's heard about his various exploits in the past (although none in the last year is she remembers correctly) but right now he doesn't seem to fit her typical image of bad boy. He just seems like a boy who misses his girlfriend desperately. She wonders if his judgment on whether her murder was truly solved or not is skewed, because maybe he doesn't want the case to end, because when the correct person was sitting in jail, then it's really true. Then Lily really isn't coming back.

She knows this from experience. You look for the truth long enough, just because you need the reality to desperately _not_ be true, but when you find your Mother in a bar down the road instead of staying with her sister, it tends to fuck with your mind a little bit. She doesn't really want a repeat of that one.

Still, something about Logan makes her want to help him, even if she never personally knew Lily Kane. He doesn't remind her of herself when she went looking for the truth about her Mother, he's much too hard for that. She doesn't think she'll break him with whatever they find.

When they reach the ice cream shop, she's surprised to find it's more like a shack on one of the more prestigious beaches. Logan gets out of his car, and turns to look at her. Despite the shack's degrading appearance, tons of people are surrounding it.

"Are you allergic to anything?"

"No. Are you going to order for me Echolls?" she inquires playfully. He blushes, and doesn't answer her but instead heads for the shack with a more determined grace.

He comes back five minutes later holding gigantic cones of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Veronica accepts her's gratefully with a smile.

"Good man," she nods as she takes a large lick. Logan smiles, but it doesn't really reach his eyes. _You're here for a case Veronica_, she reminds herself, _don't flirt. _

"Should we get started?" she asks, gesturing towards the beach. Logan nods, and she grabs her bag before they set off.

Logan is right, the beach _is_ loud; a variety of college and high school kids all goofing off, drinking, and just being generally obnoxious snobs. They find a comfortable sand dune to sit on, and Veronica slurps up the last licks of her ice cream before rooting around in her bag for her notebook.

"You ate that way to fast," Logan says, amusement lighting up his voice. Veronica makes a face at him.

"You're eating yours way to _slow_," she protests, "I mean you're just going to get used to the taste faster."

"Or I can savor it longer," he points out, and Veronica doesn't jibe back, but instead sets her pen to paper.

"Tell me all you can about Lily," she prompts, and the amusement drains out of Logan's face like the water drains from a sink. He stares out at the ocean, his shoulders tense, his ice cream lying forgotten in his hand.

"What do you want to know about her?"

"What was her personality like?" Veronica tries, and Logan takes a deep breath like he's preparing himself for impact.

"She was flirty, wild, she loved to make her Mom angry. She was like fire," he decides, "Always burning bright and hot. She was constantly getting us in trouble, but don't get me wrong—Lily was _great_. Maybe a little_ too_ great sometimes. The things she would do…"

"And were you two dating at the time of her death?"

"No," Logan says, surprising her. It was more a rudimentary question; she had expected based on his insistence to get her death solved that he and Lily had been intimate at the time of her death. "We were one of those relationships that was always off and on again, it just so happened that we were in an off stage when she died."

"Okay," Veronica nods, flipping to a new sheet and writing SUSPECTS in large block letters at the top. "Now, who was Lily close to?"

"Me. Her brother Duncan, his girlfriend Meg, Madison Sinclair, Dick, basically everyone who went to Neptune high."

Veronica pauses, wondering if the next question is truly worth asking. _He wants you to figure this out_, she told herself, _you have to ask_.

"Was she seeing anyone while you were dating or on your off periods?" Veronica asks. Logan sighs, along sigh that just sounds like he's exhausted.

"Yes to both, I think."

"What were their names?" she asks softly, wanting to touch him but not knowing if it's appropriate or not.

"I don't know. She was constantly bragging when we were off that she was seeing different lovers every day, but I don't know who they were."

"And when you were together?"

"I think his name is Eli Navarro," Logan spits out the name like it's poison, "I mean he has her name tattooed on his arm, so I can only assume that's why."

"Well he'd be a good place to start," Veronica nods, and then puts her notebook away. Logan looks at her in surprise.

"Don't you have more questions?" he asks, "Like where I was at the time of the murder, and all that?"

"I don't think it was you," she says honestly, "You'd have to be an idiot to talk to me if you were the one who killed her. Besides, I think we've done enough crime talk for tonight. I'll see if I can interview some of the people on my list tomorrow. Do you have an address for Duncan?"

"Yes, but will you let me come with you?" he asks, and she frowns. She doesn't even let Piz come with her most of the time. "It's my payment for your services," he says, and she laughs.

"Fine. But don't call it my 'services' it makes me sound like a hooker."

He laughs, that same surprised laugh. "When they referred me to you, I didn't really think you'd be like this."

"Like what?" she asks, wondering if she should be offended.

"I don't know…shouldn't you have a magnifying glass or something?"

"You watch way to many movies," Veronica says, shaking her head. "Nobody uses such outdated methods _anymore_."

"I also thought you'd be taller."

"Hey! I'm perfectly average."

"Average for a twelve year old maybe."

She laughs again, and it relaxes her body. She hasn't realized that she's been so tense until now, as she lies back against the sand, looking up at the pale blue sky.

"It's not my fault that you're like gargantuan for your age," she teases, and he leans back next to her, until they're both looking at the sky, their arms inches from brushing.

He doesn't respond with another jibe, and they just lie there in a comfortable silence. Veronica's head swarms with thoughts, wondering just what his secret is. She can tell it's more than just a murdered girlfriend, because even when they're completely alone and it's not like she's going to attack him, he's on edge. Every single one of his muscles is pulled taught like a bowstring, and she wonders what's made him like this. You didn't get this way normally, she thought to herself, she should know better than anyone. She's been this way for ages, on edge, tense. She may feel slightly more relaxed on the beach, but it's nothing close to what she used to be.

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Logan drops her back off at around five, and Mac is waiting for her when Veronica walks in.

"Did you really just go on a date with Logan?" her roommate asks, her eyes bright. Veronica shakes her head.

"Like I told Dick, it's professional. I'm helping him out with something."

"Is it about Lily?" Mac asks, and Veronica almost nods. She catches herself though, and turns away, back towards her bed. She shrugs off her jacket and releases her hair from her ponytail, running her hands through the knots. If Logan hadn't told his friends yet, she wouldn't be the one to say anything.

"I thought so," Mac says when she doesn't answer, "Listen Veronica, I didn't really know Logan before Lily died, we became friends a year or so ago. But I just want you to be careful."

"First Piz, now my roommate," Veronica says with frustration, "It's not like Logan has _rabies_ or something."

"No Logan's completely safe himself," Mac says, trying to reason with her. "But the problem is, he gets a bit _obsessed_ about Lily's death. I think he blames himself for whatever reason, but Abel Koontz _was_ tried and convicted."

"I'm just looking for the truth," Veronica says, "I've always thought there was something fishy about the Lily Kane murder, and that's all it is. Now if you'll please excuse me, I'm going to take a shower."

Once the hot water was hitting her shoulders and working out the knots in her hair and the tension in her back, Veronica allowed herself to think.

Why was Mac of all people worried about her working for Logan? Mac was _friends_ with the boy, and yet she seemed to be treating him like he was crazy for thinking about his girlfriend's death. She wonders how long Logan has expressed his concerns regarding her death, and wondering how many people have talked him down.

She was not going to do that. She had heard the same thing a million times before when she had been investigating her Mother's disappearance_—"There's nothing to look for Veronica. Your Mother is just staying with her sister._" But then Veronica had finally tracked down her Mother to a bar, where she was drinking her troubles away and telling Veronica that marrying her Father had been a mistake. That she should've married the person she really loved.

It may have hurt, hearing that from her mother and making it ruin her parent's marriage, but it had proven that she was right and the other people were wrong. Veronica had been sixteen at the time, and ever since then she has been known as the 'alcoholic's' daughter in her school, of the daughter of the woman who couldn't stay.

So yes, she chose to believe Logan. If he had the same kind of gut feeling she had about her Mother, then there was a great chance that he was correct. Besides, people in the kind of tense pain Logan was at the beach, the one she had seen when they lay side by side without saying anything, was not the face of a liar.

She made a vow to herself then, in the shower, with the soap and showerhead as witness, that she was going to figure out Logan's case if it was the last thing she did.

Because if he was fucked up like she was, he was bound to be right about this.


	3. Duncan Kane

It's a Saturday, and she's going to interview Duncan Kane with Logan. She contemplates her outfit in the mirror, what do you wear when you're about the meet the heir to the Kane legacy? She decides to go with a striped t-shirt and jeans. There's no point in being shallow when she's already met Logan Echolls, Aaron Echolls son, and eaten ice cream like a pig in front of him on top of that.

She does make sure to brush her hair though, because even she's not that uncaring about her appearance. Mac is still asleep when Logan knocks on the door, and Veronica manages to slip from the room without waking her up. She's kind of annoyed at the other girl for her comments about Logan and doesn't really want to get in it with anyone today.

However when she steps out, it's Piz standing before her door, not Logan.

"Oh, hi," she says, frowning.

"Expecting someone else?" Piz asks, raising one eyebrow.

"Actually, yes," Veronica smiles, but Piz doesn't return it. "Since you want me to tell you about every single detail of my life, I'm going out with Logan Echolls today. It's for his case."

"You're not sleeping with him, are you?"

"Well I have seemed to walk in upon an interesting conversation," Logan says from behind them, and Veronica turns around gratefully.

"To answer your question, _no_," she tells her best friend, "And we have an appointment to get to."

"Where?" Piz leans against the wall, and Veronica scowls at him.

"You don't need to know," she decides, "C'mon Logan." She grabs his arm and pulls him after her.

"What's the rush Ronnie?" he asks her as they reach his car.

"Don't call me that."

"Oh, but Ronnie is such an awesome name. It's butch, just like you."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Veronica says, rubbing her forehead as Logan unlocks his car. "Sorry about Piz, he's been acting really weird about this case lately."

"I probably should have warned you about that," Logan fidgets for a moment, the car door unlocked but he's not getting in. "Most people think I'm crazy for looking into this."

"I don't think your crazy."

Logan looks surprised at her revelation, and Veronica can feel her cheeks burning as she turns away. She doesn't know what's come over her to say that, usually she isn't so open with people she's only known for a _couple days_.

"Well it's nice to know someone still thinks I'm sane," Logan says, probably meaning for it to sound like a joke, but it just sounds sad.

"I'll let you know if I decide to put you in a padded cell," Veronica assures him, and he hops into the car as well, revving up the engine and setting off towards Duncan Kane's house.

Veronica has done a little research on the boy before she and Logan set off, and knows that Duncan Kane has a girlfriend, and a small daughter named Lily. It's really the only thing she can glean from google, which is peculiar because usually big names like his have lots of info.

Duncan lives apart from his parents, in a large house by the beach. It's all glass and beautiful weathered wood, looking like your typical rich boy house. It really is lovely though, and Veronica can't help but gape a little bit as Logan pulls up.

"I'm going to stay in the car," Logan says.

"I thought you wanted to come with me."

"I do, but Duncan isn't my biggest fan anymore. Call me," when she looks confused he elaborates, "Keep your phone on, if you're calling me I can hear what you two are talking about."

Veronica nods, suddenly understanding. She dials Logan's number, and slips the phone into her bag. "Be back in a few," she says, rather nervous. It's the first time she's actually _interrogated_ anyone since the incident last year.

She knocks on the door loudly, pretending she can't feel Logan's eyes on her back.

A pretty blonde woman opens the door, with kind brown eyes and a polite smile as she sees Veronica standing at her door. "What can I help you with?"

"I was hoping to talk to Duncan Kane," Veronica says, "I'm doing an article about the Lily Kane murder." The woman's face pulls down, and a frown replaces her polite smile.

"I don't know—"

"Please?" Veronica begs, pouting slightly. "Without it, I have to streak naked down the beach. It's a stupid bet my journalist friends set up, because they didn't think you would help me."

The woman automatically looks sympathetic, and beckons Veronica to enter the house. "My name is Meg."

"Veronica."

"Duncan!" Meg calls, "I've got someone here asking questions about your sister!"

"I thought I told you I didn't want to answer any questions about my sister," says a hard voice from behind them, and Veronica whirls around, her hand going to her phone in her bag. Duncan Kane is a pretty boy, that's for sure, with his big blue eyes and clean-cut face.

"If I don't do it, I'm in _so_ much trouble," Veronica says, adding a touch of whining to her voice. Duncan's face grows angrier, and Veronica reminds herself that Logan is just outside is listening. He wouldn't let anything happen.

"Duncan," Meg pleads softly, and Duncan sighs.

"Fine," he bites out, "But don't expect to get much from me." Veronica nods, wondering why Logan didn't mention that Lily's brother was _hostile_.

"Thank you so much," Veronica plucks her notebook out of her bag and flips a couple pages in.

"What do you want to know?" Duncan asks, and Meg murmurs something about getting drinks and disappears. Veronica wishes she wouldn't go; she doesn't exactly to feel safe with this man.

"Where were you at the time of Lily's murder?" Veronica starts, deciding that she may as well get the facts straight. She didn't need to know with Logan, she was almost positive of his innocence, but she really needed to know for Duncan.

"At soccer practice," Duncan says, bored already. She knows he's probably been asked these questions a billion times before, but she needed to hear them herself, see if there was some hole—the hole that Logan saw. "At least that's what they tell me."

"That's what who tells you?" Veronica's brow furrows, and Duncan shrugs.

"I can't remember anything from those three days. Doctor's say it's from the shock. So I can't really answer anything about her murder if that's what you are _so_ interested in."

Veronica scribbles down _can't remember _in her notebook, and looks up at Duncan again. "And who told you that you had been at soccer practice?"

"My Mother," Duncan frowns, "What exactly is this article your writing about? They have figured out who murdered her."

"I know," Veronica says soothingly, "I just want to get all the facts."

"I bring snacks!" Meg says brightly from behind them, carrying in a plate of cookies. A small girl, maybe one or one and a half, totters in on unsteady legs behind.

"Is that your daughter?" Veronica asks quietly.

"Yes, Lily," Duncan nods, "Do you have any other questions?"

"Did Lily tell you about seeing anyone at the time of her murder?"

"Like dating wise?" Duncan's nose crinkled, "No. She was my sister, we didn't really talk about those things."

"Of course," Veronica smiles, "Silly me."

"Are you working for Logan Echolls?" Duncan suddenly asks, probably realizing that Veronica isn't writing down every word he's saying, just the important factors in the case.

"Who's that?" Veronica asks, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger.

"My best—well he used to be my best friend. He was Lily's boyfriend. He thinks something else happened, but Abel Koontz _confessed_. Logan's just lost it a little if you get what I mean."

"Well I think I've gotten the information I need," Veronica says, snapping her notebook shut and shoving it in her bag. She's starting to get really sick of people calling Logan crazy. It brings back to many unhappy memories of her own problems, and she doesn't think anyone should go through someone that they used to love calling them out like that.

She makes sure to grab two cookies before she leaves the house.

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.

.

"You know," Logan says, wiping the cookie crumbs off his face, "I would totally get it if you didn't want to work with me anymore."

"Why wouldn't I?" Veronica asks, she's taken over driving for right now. It occupies her mind, and she doesn't trust herself to think right now.

"Because you may be labeled as 'crazy' to," Logan shrugs, and Veronica shakes her head.

"I'm afraid that label was stuck on me in my sophomore year of high school after I went looking for my Mom," she admits, "So no, I don't really mind being called crazy. Part of the job I suppose."

She pulls over to the side of the road, and rests her head against the steering wheel for a moment. "Just tell me something."

"Anything."

"Why does everyone think you're crazy for this? I mean, usually your friends at least believe in you." She doesn't realize how it sounds until Logan sucks in a breath, she opens her mouth to correct herself, but Logan cuts her off.

"Because I keep hiring people to find out who killed her. And I was doing my own investigation alone until…"

"Until?"

"Until someone found out, and decided that I deserved to get punched for it. I wasn't getting anywhere anyways, and so I decided that if I hired someone to figure it out, that person wouldn't link it back to me again."

"Am I in danger?" she asks honestly, and Logan looks at her, something lost in his brown eyes.

"I can't explain how I know this, but the only person who would potentially get in danger for investigating this is _me_," when she looks doubtful, he adds, "Trust me Veronica. _You're_ safe. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"I would've still kept investigating even if you said I was," Veronica admits, "Because you're right, there's something wrong about this case."

"Is it the thing Duncan said? About not remembering anything?" Logan asks, "He said that to the cops too apparently, it's why they kept him on a tight leash until Abel Koontz was arrested."

Veronica stares out the window for a moment, "It's definitely fishy," she says, "But there's not any evidence pointing towards him either. For right now, I'll just put him on the suspect list."

"Who is on the suspect list?"

"Well…everyone that was in Neptune that day. Except for you," Veronica says, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. "We just need to find something that narrows it down. What did you say Lily's possible boyfriend's name was?"

"Eli Navarro. Runs the local bike gang. Goes by Weevil," Logan looks fierce suddenly, "But Ronnie they're not a crowd you want to get messed up in. Weevil's dangerous."

"All the more reason to interview him my dear."

It's a couple more minutes of silence before Logan breaks it. "Ah. So were you just pretending to be the wolf in Little Red Riding hood for my benefit, or were you calling me dear?"

She would punch him in the arm, but she's driving.

"So where can we find Weevil?" she asks, keeping her eyes on the road. She hears Logan sigh.

"Can't you let me interrogate him?" he asks.

"No," she shakes her head, "In fact, now that you've told me about how you got punished last time by whoever, for investigating this—and somehow I'm out of danger, I don't know if I should even have you on board with this."

"I'm afraid that isn't optional," Logan says calmly.

"Lo—"

"Don't even try Veronica. Not changing my mind."

She doesn't tell him that she's secretly pleased that he's insistent on coming with her, because Piz as he likes to phrase it 'is a lover, not a fighter' and while sometimes she needs the lover, she can't help but think that may be why they're having problems right now. She's a _fighter_, but she could always use a partner in crime.

"So you're going to be my partner in crime?" she voices her thoughts, but instead makes it sound more like a joke.

"Of course," he says, and she wonders if he's pretending to be joking too.

"So Weevil's phone number?"

"So desperate to get into the biker's pants?"

"You are terrible Logan Echolls. Just terrible."

He laughs, that same surprised pretty laugh. "I have his number," he says, "I'll call him and set up a meet."

"Do I even want to know how you've got the head biker's name on your phone?"

"Probably not."

"Well, for a partner in crime, so far you're doing fantastic."

"Why thank you, Ms. Mars," he says, and takes out his phone to dial Weevil's number.


	4. Milkshakes, Bikers, and Madison Sinclair

a/n: Thank you for so many follows and reviews! I hope you all continue to enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.

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Weevil Navarro is not what she is expecting. (Of course, she's starting to get that nothing in Neptune is as expected) He's got the biker tattoos and the leather jacket, but his eyes are actually kind and he has no hair. Like at all.

"Echolls," he greets with a manly bob of his head, and Logan nods (acting equally manly) back.

"Navarro."

_Boys and their head bobbing techniques, _Veronica thinks to herself, before she steps forward.

"My name is Veronica Mars, and I'm helping Logan figure out Lily Kane's murder."

"I thought it was solved," Weevil says, and Veronica shakes her head, a smile toying at her lips.

"But you don't really believe that do you?" Veronica asks, crossing her arms over her chest. She has a recorder on her, she figures that the notebook might make a bike leader _more_ nervous, and she wants him to be comfortable if she can help it. Logan isn't helping the situation, he stands so close to her that she can feel his breath tickling the top of her head. Maybe she really is short, and maybe Logan is just a bit on the protective side.

Weevil smirks. "No, I don't," he admits.

"What the hell man?" Logan asks, his voice strangely hostile. "That's not what you said to me when I asked you two years ago."

"Yeah, but you're well…_you_."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Logan steps closer, and she can feel is body pressing against her's, and it's really quite an awkward feeling. Not to mention it's making her blush and—she steps away, holding up a hand to ward him off.

"Down boy," she tells Logan, who bristles, but falls silent anyways. "Where were you the day of the murder?"

"How is it any of your business?"

"Well," Veronica crosses her arms over her chest and steps closer. "It will determine if you get off the suspect list or not."

"I'm on the suspect list?"

"At this point, there's only two people not on the suspect list. Logan, and myself. So get talking biker boy."

"Fine. I was helping my Grandma fix a broken pipe at _your_ house," Weevil nods at Logan, who bites his lip.

"I can't remember if we had a plumbing problem that day," he admits, and Veronica nods.

"We'll check into that. Now, I'm going to ask you a question that you actually have to answer, and _Logan_," she turns back to the other boy, "I want you to please not lose your temper."

"Are you asking him about if they were—"he begins but she nods before he can finish, and Logan fidgets for a moment, and she can see the struggle in those brown eyes of his.

"Go wait by the car for a couple minutes," Veronica suggests, "I'm not even sure if it's imperative to know."

Logan stalks off, and Weevil looks at Veronica curiously. "You make some weird company new girl."

"My name is Veronica. Learn it," she says, rolling her eyes. "Were you dating Lily Kane while she was dating Logan?"

"Why do you need to know that?"

"Because I'm trying to piece together Lily's last few days. Were you with her intimately in her last few hours?"

"It's really none of your business."

"You said you agreed with Logan, that there was something fishy about Lily's death. Do you want the true killer caught or _not_? I can see that Logan cares about Lily, the question is: do you?"

"Fine," Weevil sighs through his teeth, "To answer your question, we hadn't been banging—"

"Intimate."

"_Whatever_, for a week."

"Thank you for your cooperation," Veronica smiles at him and turns to head back towards Logan's car.

"Wait," Weevil takes a step forward and Veronica turns, curious. "Don't give up okay? That Echolls kid, I don't trust him, but anyone who's lookin' at the case with a straight eye knows there's something wrong."

"Don't worry," Veronica says, starting her trek back towards Logan's car. "I don't give up easily."

.

.

.

Logan treats her to lunch at Artic Circle, and Veronica lapping her cookies and cream shake up eagerly. Logan watches her with barely contained disgust.

"You are an eating _machine_," Logan says, and Veronica scoops out a chunk of Oreo and flicks it at him. She originally intends for it to hit him in the cheek, but she misses and it whacks him right in the eye. Instead of apologizing (like she probably _should_) she starts to laugh, a horrible snorting laugh that really makes her sound horribly unattractive. Logan just looks at her, and then digs his own spoon into his shake and flicks it at her. He's a good aim and it hits her right in the nose, the sweet trails running off her nose and onto her shirt.

"Oh it's _on_ Echolls," she says seriously, taking the biggest spoonful she can and lobbing at him. He just manages to dodge it and it instead sails over his head and hits an unsuspecting man in the back of the head.

"Shit," Logan swears, turning around to see who it's hit, "That's my sociology professor. Run for it Mars, just _run_."

The Professor seems to be in a stage of shock, and they use his momentary stillness as an opportunity to collect their lunch in their arms and make a run for the hills. They collapse in Logan's car, and now Logan's laughing and she's laughing as hard as she can.

She feels like she's known Logan _forever_, instead of the couple days since he's asked her for help in Lily's murder case. He's so easy to talk to , maybe a little secretive, but his personality lines up with her's perfectly. They both have pent up aggression, she can see that, but something about hanging out with him makes her cool down a little bit.

"You play dirty Ronica," Logan says, and she looks at him curiously.

"Ronica?"

"Well you don't like Ronnie, and it's not like I'm going to stop calling you that—but I need to have multiple nicknames in my arsenal."

"How about you call me Veronica for once?"

"Dick's right, Veronica is not exciting enough for you."

"I choose to take that as a compliment," Veronica decides, scooping the remains of her shake and popping it into her mouth. "So who else are we going to interview?"

"Madison Sinclair would be the only other person who could possibly know anything," Logan says, frowning. "But she's a bitch."

"Well, if she could know something, it can't hurt," Veronica says, "And then for right now, that's all the people we need to interrogate. We'll have to take another step after that."

"And what's that step?"

"I don't know yet," she shrugs, "I'll decide after we talk to Madison. Can you contact her?"

Logan looks disgruntled. "I suppose I can."

"What's between you two?" Veronica inquires, and Logan shudders.

"Let's just say I was really drunk one night and she...took advantage of me."

"So in short terms, you slept with her?" Veronica finishes her shake and sticks it in a cup holder.

"If you want to put it that way, yes."

"We all have our regrets," Veronica says, "She was Lily's best friend right?"

"Sure."

"Call her," she thought for a moment, and then added, "Does she go to Hearst?"

Logan shook his head, "She's not smart enough to get into college," he chuckles, "Or she's just to lazy to go."

"I have a backup plan then if she get's to grabby," Veronica says, but doesn't elaborate. "So don't worry. Call her."

Logan glares at her, but lifts the phone to his ear regardless. "Hey Madison," he says, and then mimes throwing up. Veronica giggles before she can stop herself, and then locks her eyes on the road as she shifts Logan's car into gear. She isn't sure when she started becoming the driver, but quite honestly it was easier for her this was. She usually didn't let people help her out on cases, and driving made her feel like she was in control. Not to mention, Logan's ride was _sweet_.

She tunes out of Logan's conversation until he starts giving her directions. She still isn't used to Neptune and the reckless teenagers who drive fancy expensive cars from the day they turn sixteen. Just driving away and trying to figure out this case as almost resulted her getting into several accidents, all by people younger than twenty-one. She doesn't know how someone could live here _all the time_.

Madison Sinclair is obviously thinking that Logan is coming here _alone_, because she asks them to meet her in a restaurant, and when Logan points her out, Madison is wearing your typical 'sexy girl' outfit. She elbows Logan in the side.

"Looks like someone wants to get into your pants tonight," she whispers, and Logan gags.

"What is your plan for getting her off my back?"

"Your Dad is an actor right?" she asks him, and at the mention of his Father something flashes behind his eyes.

"What, do you want me to get you his autograph or something?"

Veronica rolls her eyes. "No. I want you to utilize whatever acting talents you have inherited and follow my lead." She reaches over and takes his hand, pulling him after her as they approach Madison's table.

"Madison Sinclair right?" Veronica says in a bright annoying voice, "Lo-Lo says you used to be friends with Lily Kane!"

Madison's eyes flicker to their joined hands, and a sneer turns down her lips. "I was her best friend," she admits, and Veronica thinks her voice sounds like one of the hyenas from _the Lion King_.

"Oh her death must have been so hard for you," Veronica pulls out a chair and practically shoves Logan into the other one. "Lo-Lo told me you could answer some questions for me about her last days."

"Why do you want to know? And who are you anyways?" Madison sneers, and Veronica smiles.

"It's for a journalism project. And I'm Veronica, Logan's girlfriend!" Veronica wiggles a couple fingers at her.

"Oh, I didn't know you were dating anyone Logan," Madison says with a cruel note in her voice.

"We've been keeping it on the down low," Logan replies, his hand tightening on Veronica's like it's a reflex.

"This doesn't have anything to do with you trying to find out who _really_ killed Lily right?" Madison asks for clarification, "Because I thought that you had given up on that."

Logan starts to say something, but Veronica cuts him off. "No, it's only for my journalism class. Can you please tell me everything you know?"

"It was the day of the Pep Club car wash," Madison shrugs, "Lily was supposed to be helping out, but she had to leave early for some 'appointment'. She told me she had a secret to tell, a really good one, but she died before she could say it. That's all. It's not like I knew where Lily was at all times," Madison rolls her eyes, "I doubt that's going to help you with your article."

Veronica bites at her lip. "That might help more than you know," she tells Madison honestly.

"Great to be of service," Madison looks annoyed, probably because she originally thought that Logan was here to hook up. "Well, if you excuse me—I got to go." And she stands up, sashaying from the restaurant, several men looking at her swinging ass as she goes. Logan is not one of them. He's looking at Veronica in amazement.

"What?" she asks defensively. "It made her leave quicker."

"If you wanted to be my girlfriend so badly, all you had to do was ask."

Veronica whacks him in the shoulder. "Oh shut up."

"Also…_Lo-Lo_?"

"Like I said, _shut up_."

"So what do we do from here?" he asks her.

"We find out what Lily's secret was," Veronica answers, her eyes far away.

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	5. Taping the Pieces Together

a/n: I may have to stop my daily updates soon, some family I haven't seen in forever just came into town and I don't have as much time to write. Also, sorry this chapter is kind of a recap and it's mostly just fluff and dialogue, but it will pick up in the next few chapters. Now I have a question for you all, would you rather Logan and Veronica get together sooner or later?

"Let's make a board," Logan suggests a week after they've interrogated Madison. They haven't gained any new evidence or really anything since then, and this suggestion makes Veronica's head flit up from where she's studying her English notes.

She's seen Logan every day, either he hangs out in her dorm room or they meet up on the beach, making speculations and suspicions or just studying for classes. Unfortunately none of the theories they've come up with quite _fit_, and Veronica's starting to get a little lost. Not to mention that she's behind on some of coarse work.

"A board?"

"You know, like with the names and faces of all the main suspects and all the stuff we know," he says, and she nods.

"That could be a good idea," she stands up, surveying the dorm room. "We could do it in here, but there's a chance Piz or Mac could see—"

"Or we could do it at my house," Logan says quickly, "I mean…My Dad's gone for the week so…"

"My, my Logan Echolls," Veronica crosses her arms over her chest. "Are you trying to get me into your bedroom?"

"You wish," he smirks, "C'mon." He holds out her hand and she pulls herself up, gathering her notebook.

"Fine, I'll go to your house," she waggles a finger in his face, "But no funny business," she puts on a southern accent, "I am still a _proper_ lady."

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.

.

Logan's the son of a movie star, so Veronica expects his house to be big. I mean, it only makes sense right?

She however, doesn't expect it to be so entirely _large_. It's not a mansion, she feels like a _castle_ would be a better description. It even has a gate at the front, and Logan needs to be buzzed in to get in. Her mouth is open as she stares at the large sandstone covered building. Logan's eyes keep darting to her's as she gazes up t the building.

"Why do you like hanging out in my dorm room?" she asks him, "It's probably the size of your _closet._"

"Maybe it's the coziness?" he suggests, parking in front of the building. He helps Veronica out of the car. When he tried to do that the first time, she had pushed him away, but now she just let him. It was easier than protesting at this point. Besides, it made her feel special. Even Veronica Mars wanted to feel special occasionally.

"Cozy," Veronica snorts, "That's the polite way of saying barely enough room to _walk_."

"Whatever you say Ronica," he says, letting them in through the front door. The entry way is as big as her house back home, she observes, and wonders how it would be like to grow up without worrying about money.

"So what are we going to make this board out of?" she asks, and Logan grins.

"Come here," he says, gesturing for her to follow him up a long staircase that twists elegantly out of view. Veronica, feeling _very_ out of place in her moose t-shirt and jeans that have a hole in the knee, follows him up.

"Is this your room?" she asks in amazement, and Logan shakes his head.

"It's the 'guest room' but really my Mom used to sleep in here," he says, and Veronica wracks her mind back. She's never been up to date on the tabloids, and while she knows that Logan's mother is famous, she can't remember where she is.

"Where is your Mom?" she finally asks, assuming his parents are divorced or something. Logan looks at her in disbelief, and she squirms slightly.

"You really didn't hear?" he asks her in amazement.

"Should I have?"

Logan laughs, "You don't keep track of celebrities do you?"

Veronica blushes. "Sorry," she murmurs.

"No, that's awesome," Logan says, genuinely happy that she doesn't read the tabloids, "Well to answer your question, my Mother committed suicide two years ago."

"Oh," Veronica's hand flies to her mouth, her eyes going wide as saucers. "I'm _sorry_, I didn't know—"

"No it's fine," Logan waves off her apology, "It's actually kind of cool that you don't follow the tabloids. And it's been a long time regardless—I'm over it." She can see in his face that it's a lie. She reaches out a hand and touches his shoulder, biting her lip softly.

"You don't get over your Mother leaving you," she says softly, her eyes melting into her's, "I should know."

"Your Mother committed suicide too?" Logan's eyes search her's, probably wanting her to feel the way she does. She does, she's surprised to know. Her Mother may not have taken her own life, but she left her.

"No, but she did leave," Veronica admits, "Told me that marrying my Dad was a mistake when I found her holed up in a bar. I almost used all my college money getting her into rehab, and then she took everything we had and hightailed it out of there." She looks down at her feet, she hasn't even told _Piz_ all those details. Still, if Logan's mother did leave him, he understands. He won't try to shove false sympathies or advice onto her.

"My Mom liked to drink too," Logan says instead, his eyes impossibly far away. "But enough of that talk." She hasn't even realized that they're still standing in the doorway of his Mother's room until he says this, and she shakes her head firmly and follows him into the room.

She's only known him for a week, and despite the fact that they've spent a good chunk of that week in each other's presence, it doesn't mean anything. He's still someone she's barely met, and she can't let herself get distracted by him. No matter how pretty his eyes are.

"So I was thinking we could take down one of these," Logan says, gesturing to the far wall of a bedroom that's roughly the size of the master bedroom in her house back home. The back wall is lined with Lynn Echolls' movie posters, and Veronica is surprised to know that she recognizes a few. "And glue stuff on the back. Then we can put it back up when we're done and nobody will know."

"So I take it your Dad doesn't know that you hired me?" Veronica asks as Logan selects a poster and lifts it off the wall. At the mention of his Father Logan stiffens, and shakes his head.

"He's like the rest. Thinks I'm crazy for even thinking there's something wrong about her death." Logan sets the poster down on the bed and involuntarily reaches back and rubs at a spot on his back like it's troubling him. "Everyone thinks I'm crazy," he sighs.

"Well just remember, like I've said before, that I _don't_," Veronica says, moving to sit on the bed in front of the poster, "So not _everyone_. Just mostly everyone." Logan laughs, and joins her.

"So first off, we need a picture of Lily," he decides, and Veronica nods.

"That would be good," she agrees, and she's again surprised when he pulls one out of the back of his pocket. When she stares at him, he shrugs.

"I knew we were going to do this today."

"Do you have any glue?" she instead asks, knowing that he's lying to her but not really caring. Logan nods, and disappears for a moment before he returns holding a large glue stick.

"I feel like this is arts and crafts time," Logan admits as Veronica glues Lily's picture to the center of the board.

"She's the only thing we'll glue," Veronica decides, "The rest we'll tape. Lily is really the only _known_ variable."

Logan nods in agreement, and then returns with a roll of tape and a stack of photographs. "Here are some pictures of Duncan, Meg, Madison, you name it."

Veronica picks up the stack and rifles through it, noting how much happier Logan looks in these pictures, how much younger Duncan looks, how much less sour Madison portrays herself to be. One girl could change all of these people with her death. One girl could haunt Logan forever.

"So who is on our main list of suspects?" Logan asks, snapping Veronica out of her reverie.

"Well I was thinking Duncan," Veronica selects a lone picture of Duncan and tapes it to the board. "If he doesn't remember anything front the days of Lily's death, that puts him without an alibi really."

Logan nods. "He does this a lot, forgetting things I mean," he says, "And Ronnie, you can't tell anyone I told you this, but one day I was over at his house and he just lost it. Closed his hands around his Father's throat and I couldn't get him off. When I finally wrestled him free, and he got back to being Duncan, he didn't remember any of it."

Veronica frowns. "Do you think he's pretending or he really doesn't remember?"

Logan shrugs. "Who knows?"

"Okay," Veronica picks up a dry erase marker and scrawls next to Duncan's picture _Memory Problem. Violent. _

"Who's next?" Logan asks, tapping his hand against the edge of the poster.

"Madison Sinclair," Veronica attaches the picture to the board. "She said Lily had a secret to tell her, how are we supposed to know she didn't and Madison went crazy?"

"Madison is not _that_ smart."

"How did Lily die?" Veronica picks up her notebook, she's written down all the details of Lily's death, "She was hit in the head with an ash tray right? It could've not been intended at first."

Logan nods, something flashing in his eyes. He's the one that does the writing this time, scrawling in odd blockish letters: _Secrets. Stupid. _

"Okay, so next is Weevil, although since you don't have any pictures of him…"

"Why would I have pictures of _Weevil?_"

Veronica scrawls Weevil's name. _Boyfriend. Reluctant to talk. Not intimate with Lily at the time of her death._

"And then there's here parents," Veronica frowns, "But I doubt they'd talk to us. They don't seem as gullible as Duncan from the newscasts I've seen."

"And they hate me, and anyone in association with me," Logan adds helpfully.

Veronica takes two pictures of Jake and Celeste Kane from her bag and sticks them onto the board.

"Do you just randomly carry pictures of Jake and Celeste on you at all times?" Logan asks, "Should I be concerned?" Veronica makes a face at him.

"I had a feeling we were going to do something like this," she says, "Now the only thing I really need is to get their alibis. Duncan, Madison, and Weevil's all check out for right now, but we have no way of obtaining those unless we—"

"Steal them from the police station," Logan finishes,

"But we can't steal something from the police station!" Veronica protests.

"We don't need to," Logan shrugs, "I'll have someone else do it."

"Oh you just have buckets of people willing to commit a felony for you?"

"No, but I do have a contact _inside_ the building, who just happens to owe me."

"Owe you for what?"

"That's for me to know, and not certain blonde girls who I've only known for a week," Logan says abruptly, and Veronica flinches back slightly.

"Okay, okay," she says, raising her eyebrows. "Just be careful." Logan smirks.

"I always am."

Her phone rings before she can answer, and she picks it up without looking to see who's calling. "Hello?"

"Hey Veronica," Piz answers, "So Wallace and I were going to go bowling tonight, you want to join?"

"Um…" Veronica twirls a piece of hair around her finger, and then looks at Logan sitting on the edge of his dead Mother's bed, looking at a board containing the suspects of who could've murdered his girlfriend. Maybe it would be nice for them to do something else. "Sure. Just, could I bring a friend?"

"Sure," Piz says, and he's almost sounding like the Piz from _before_ college. "The more the merrier."

"Kay, I've got to go," Veronica hangs up, and then looks at Logan. "Want to go bowling?"

"What?"

"Piz and his roommate invited me along. I was wondering if you wanted to join us." Logan looks uncomfortable for a moment.

"I don't know, I don't think your boyfriend likes me very much."

"Piz is _not_ my boyfriend," Veronica insists, "And besides, you can't let him and Wallace team up against me!" When Logan doesn't say anything, she leans forward and puts her hand on his arm. "I think it would do us both some good to step away from this for just one game of bowling."

"You really want me to come with you?" he looks like he's expecting her to say no.

"Yes, I do," she nods, "So come."

He grins then, and it makes something inside her flutter. "Okay."

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The bowling alley is a hole in the wall a couple miles from campus. It looks like it's from the 80s, complete with the tacky signs and smell of greasy pizza. At first Veronica's slightly nervous, wondering what Logan's expectations are. He looks around at the bowling alley with apprehension, but then softens when he sees her looking at him, and grins.

"I haven't done anything like this in forever," he admits.

"Really?" she raises an eyebrow, "Is that why Dick is practically begging anything with legs to be your girlfriend?" Logan laughs.

"I do alright in that area," he says mysteriously, wiggling his eyebrows. She smiles back, but something about his comment sets unhappily in her stomach. She doesn't have a chance to respond before—

"Veronica?" Piz asks, and Veronica and Logan both turn around.

"Oh, hey!" Veronica says happily, stepping forward to give him a hug. Despite Piz's annoying nature, she does miss him. He stiffens at her touch, and she frowns. Still acting weird then.

"Hey Veronica," Wallace greets, his smile infectious. She likes Wallace, he seems like a good guy.

"I don't think I've introduced you completely to my friend," Veronica steps back, gesturing towards Logan. "This is Logan, and Logan this is Piz and Wallace."

Logan nods, his arm brushing against her lower back. Veronica can feel every breath he makes, and she's painfully aware of the heat rising to her face as she lunges toward the nearest bowling lane.

"Let's get this party started!" she says loudly, trying to diffuse the tension springing between her, Logan, and Piz.

"Ronnie, you kind of need bowling shoes," Logan points out, smirking. Veronica straightens.

"Oh yeah," she laughs, "I knew that."

"Sure you did," Logan rolls his eyes, "What's your shoe size?"

"Size six," she tells him, and he heads towards the shoe rental.

"Why did you bring him?" Piz asks as soon as he's out of earshot.

"Because I was with him when you called," Veronica defends, "And he's my _friend_."

"I'm cool with it man," Wallace adds, but Piz doesn't back down. He steps closer to Veronica, and she takes a step back.

"Stop being a jackass," Veronica advises him, "Unless you want me to Taser you. Which I would be happy to do if you keep acting like this."

Piz lets out a frustrated groan, and turns away, his hands twitching at his side. Veronica turns to Wallace, puts on a bright smile, and starts to talk to him about basketball until Logan gets back.

"Did you miss me?" Logan asks, the shoes into her lap. "I hope these are the right size Ronica, because the lady at the desk definitely did _not _like me."

"Someone not liking you?" Veronica fake gasps, "That's almost _unheard_ of." She slides the bowling shoes onto her feet, and while they're slightly too big, she decides to just go with it.

"You ready partner in crime?" Logan asks, raising one eyebrow. She raises her eyes to the digital screen above and sure enough, sees that she's on a team with Logan against Piz and Wallace.

"Just so you know," she whispers to Logan, "I really _suck_ at bowling."

"I should be amazing enough for both of us Sugarpuss, don't you worry," he says, smirking, and steps up to the floor, a bowling ball clutched tightly in his grip.

"You're so going down," Wallace goads, but Logan merely nods, and then gracefully rolls the ball onto the floor. It heads towards the middle pin and hits it with a crack, knocking all the pins around it down.

Veronica raises her hand and gives Logan a high five. "I knew picking you as my partner wasn't a bad idea," she says smugly, and Logan looks like he's going to say something in return, but Piz interrupts them by spectacularly falling on his ass during his turn, and Veronica has to help him up off the slippery floor. When she turns back to Logan, he's looking off in the distance, something deep and dark in his eyes.

He's quiet for the rest of the night.


	6. False Evidence

a/n: So it's been about three weeks in the story timeline. Just letting you guys know, and I'm mostly skipping time because I think it would take them several months to really fall in love – but I don't want to write out every day or every week in-between if that makes sense. Also this fiction, so some things would obviously not be done in real life but they fit better with the storyline.

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It's two weeks past bowling and it's two o'clock in the morning when her phone rings. It's not loud enough to wake up Mac, but it certainly wakes Veronica. She groans and rolls over, lifting the small device up to her ear and exhaling slowly when she sees who's calling.

"Lo?" she murmurs sleepily, and he responds at once.

"I have the tapes of the investigation and pictures of the crime scene from the police station," he tells her, and she sits up immediately, kicking her legs out from underneath the covers. "But they have to be returned by eight o 'clock tomorrow morning."

"Where do you want me to meet you?"

"I'm kind of already in the parking lot," he says sheepishly, and she laughs softly.

"Well if you're _that_ eager, you're going to have to deal with me in my PJs," Veronica tells him, sliding out of bed and hanging up the phone. She ties her messy hair back into an even messier bun, and pulls on a soft sweatshirt and her slippers. She quickly scrawls a note to Mac telling her not to worry, and then silently traipses out the door.

Logan is waiting in his car, his knee bouncing up and down and his fingers tapping against the steering wheel. He looks like a dog trapped in a kennel from where she's standing. _He'_s in his pajamas too she realizes, a pair of navy sweatpants and a gray T-shirt. So this wasn't planned from the start.

She slides into the car next to him, and Logan jumps like she's shocked him. When he sees it's just her, he visibly relaxes, letting out a long sigh and shifting the car into drive.

"So _why_ are we on limited time?" Veronica inquires as they pull out of the parking lot. Logan's brown eyes dart to her and then back up at the road, and she can see his hands quivering from where they rest on the steering wheel.

"My contact has to get them back in before tomorrow morning, so nobody notices that they're missing," he says quickly, "So we're going to go drive to the most remote beach possible and watch them on my laptop."

"Why're you so nervous?" Veronica asks, leaning back against the seat, her mind still slightly hazy from just barely waking up.

"We are _breaking the law_ Veronica," Logan snaps, and Veronica laughs.

"Is the big fierce Logan Echolls scared of getting caught?" she teases, and Logan shoots her a glare. "Whatever, I get it. We're breaking the law. We'll be careful, trust me. This is not my first time."

"Breaking the law or jumping out of bed to watch confessionals with a boy you met three weeks ago?"

"This is the first time I've ever jumped out of bed and into a boy's car," Veronica confesses and Logan laughs. "What, is this your first time breaking the law?"

"No, but it's the first time it's really _counted_," Logan says, "And for a moment there, I didn't think my contact would meet with me at all. I thought we had reached a dead end."

It was true that in the last two weeks, while they had added more pictures and more random Lily trivia to their board, they hadn't exactly gone much farther past the 'investigation' stage. This though, was a start. With this they could determine if Jake and Celeste's alibi's matched up, and if they could possibly have anything to do with their daughter's death. Which, Veronica concludes to herself, would be really be a stretch. Why would someone kill their own daughter? But Duncan…Duncan didn't remember anything. What did that mean? This case was like when you leave your headphones in the bottom of your bag, you don't know how they've got so tangled and knotted, but you pull it out and suddenly they're just a mess and you can't pick through it until you concentrate enough.

"Doing some hard thinking over there Mars?" Logan asks her, his eyes flickering over to her. They're approaching Dog Beach Veronica notes distantly.

"Just thinking about the case," she says in frustration, "I mean Duncan getting his alibi provided to him by his parents is definitely suspicious. Is he lying? Or does he really not remember what happened? Is Celeste lying?" she groans, leaning forward and pressing her face into her palms.

"Don't you see why I wanted to look into this?" Logan asks as he parks the car, "There's something fishy about it all."

"You have a good eye for this sort of thing," Veronica compliments him, and Logan smiles. He digs around in his bag and pulls out a laptop, setting it on the dashboard and pressing the power button. "Are you prepared though?"

"Prepared?" a frown crinkles his brow, and while he appears to be confused, Veronica knows he gets what she's saying. Still, she complies with his act and continues.

"Prepared for what we might find," Veronica says, "Because it might not be pretty."

"When is anything ever pretty?" Logan asks her honestly as the computer boots up, "Most of the people in my life believe I'm crazy, my Mother's dead, my girlfriend's dead and my Dad—" he breaks off, catching himself.

"Your Dad's what?"

"Don't worry about me Veronica," Logan assures, ignoring her question, "I can handle it."

He takes out several CDs and inserts them into the disc drive, opening the digital files.

"Who's the sheriff at this time?" Veronica inquires, leaning closer to the computer. The video files are taking their time loading, and she taps her fingers impatiently against the dashboard.

"The sheriff wasn't the one who did the integration. They hired a PI to do it at the time, because it was revealed that the department was corrupt."

"That explains a lot about this town if the sheriff's department sucks," Veronica says, and Logan chuckles.

"Yeah, it really does."

The files finally open, and it pans to a view of a steel table and two chairs. Jake Kane sits in one chair, looking worn out and struck dumb. The other chair is occupied by…

"_Dad_?" Veronica leans forward to get a better view.

"_Actually_, my name is Logan. I'm so glad that I resemble enough of a fatherly figure to get confused though," Logan jibes from next to her, but Veronica's still staring at the screen. Her head whips around to look at Logan.

"Was the interrogator's name Keith Mars?!" she demands angrily.

"Yeah, but I thought you knew that…" Logan trails off, and then frowns. "Wait… are you telling me that he's your Dad?"

Veronica doesn't answer but instead leans back, putting her head in her hands and trying to stop her spinning thoughts. Her _Dad_? Why would her Dad go to Neptune to investigate a murder without telling her? Why would he lie to her?

"He interrogated you, didn't he?" she asks softly, and Logan nods.

"He was pretty interested in me because Lily and I just had broken up. I didn't really like—" he breaks off. "But it doesn't really matter now."

"Of course it matters!" Veronica angrily throws up her hands, her blue eyes blazing at Logan. "He could have speculations, theories, unless… he wasn't the one who arrested Abel Koontz was he?" The thought feels like a vice around her heart, because if _her_ Dad was the one who arrested Abel Koontz, what did that mean? What were her and Logan doing if that was the case?

"No, it was the original Sheriff in a desperate claim to get the public's attention back on him. Mr. Mars was focused on Jake Kane, he was in there for _hours_ interrogating him."

"He was out of town after Lily Kane was murdered," Veronica whispers, mostly to herself. "I remember because it was also the day my Mother left." She says it matter of fact, toneless, emotionless. It doesn't matter now, it's over and done. What she cares about, what she really wants to know, is why her Father didn't tell her about being asked to investigate the murder.

"Ronnie—"

"Did you know this?" she demands of him, "Did you know who my Father was? And don't you _dare_ lie to me Logan because I will be able to tell when you're lying to me."

"Why would I know this?" Logan asks, "And why would it matter?"

"Because did you think I could get information from my Dad on this? Did you use me?"

"What—Veronica _no_," Logan says, reaching out to touch her on the shoulder. She almost flinches away, but something about his touch is comforting and she instead leans into it, closing her eyes tightly.

"I'm sorry," she mutters, "My Dad is the only person who _hadn't_ lied to me before today, and to find out that he was doing this instead of visiting a sick relative like I thought kind of hurts."

"You're wrong," Logan says quietly, and she looks up at him in confusion, "I haven't lied to you. And I never _will_ Veronica, even if I keep secrets."

"Aren't secrets just another form of lying?" Veronica asks him honestly, and Logan shakes his head.

"Not when you're keeping it to protect someone," he tells her softly, and something inside her breaks. She lunges forward and wraps her arms around his muscular frame tightly. He stiffens for a moment, probably because they haven't really touched each other despite the fake handholding's and lame punches. She needs this though, needs someone to hold her without asking any questions. Logan hesitates at first, but then his arms pull her closer, burying his face into her hair. He let's her hold him, and she lets him hold her, and everything is okay for now.

She doesn't tell him how much his promise means to her, or why it strikes a cord, and he doesn't give up any of his secrets. They just sit in the car, and hold each other.

"Maybe we should start by looking at the crime scene photos?" Logan suggests, "Give you some time to wrap your head around it." Veronica pulls back from him, discreetly wiping at her eyes.

"Sorry about that," she tells him, her voice slightly shaky.

"Don't worry about it," Logan looks at his computer, closing the video file and opening the photo files. "So these are the pictures of her room," he says, clicking on one.

At the sight of the room, he takes a deep wary breath, his eyes far away and lost like he's in another time. The room is large (Lily Kane was rich) and _very_ messy. Wardrobes open with clothes spilling out, photos lying crooked on the wall, makeup lying open everywhere – your typical teenage girl's room.

Logan's looking at it like he's a drowning man and he's found his ship, his eyes wide and hopeful as he reaches out a finger to trace a small pink blob on the screen.

"I think I gave her those shoes," he says, his voice warm like he's forgotten for a moment that Lily's dead and that they're looking at the photos of her room from the day she was murdered, and Veronica thinks it's a good look on him – being happy. She's only seen it a couple times, and she wishes that she knew how to make it stay on there permanently.

"Do you want me to enlarge it?" Veronica asks, already leaning over the computer and typing in a few simple commands. The picture zooms in, revealing a pair of pink shoes with the words _I love Logan _written on it in blue felt marker.

"I wrote that," Logan says fondly, his fingertip running along the words, "She was so mad that I ruined her shoes, but I was bored and –" he breaks off abruptly. "God Ronnie, I'm sitting in a car on the beach with a girl I met on the beach, looking at pictures of my girlfriend's room – and she died when I was sixteen. It's been two years…" he trails off, "It's been _two_ years," he repeats, his voice a little bit broken and lost. Veronica wants to hold him again, but she doesn't think he would appreciate that, so instead she looks more closely at the shoes as if she stares hard enough, Lily Kane will come back.

"Oh my god," she whispers, as something about the shoes clicks in her mind. "Do you have the video of when they caught Abel Koontz on here?" she knows it's silly to think that he has a newscast video on his computer, but he pulls it up regardless, he must have saved it a long time ago.

At the beginning of the video, the triumphant sheriff holds up two plastic bags labeled evidence. Veronica hits pause.

"Do you see it?" she asks, minimizing the window and moving the picture so they both fit on the screen.

"It's the same shoes," he whispers, "But they found them on Abel Koontz's houseboat –"

"So unless he went back for souvenirs," Veronica finishes, "That man was innocent."

"But then why would he confess?" Logan asks, rubbing his forehead, "That's always the flaw isn't it? Why would he confess if he was innocent?"

"Well we can't ask him," Veronica shakes her head, "We both know he was killed for that murder. Still," she says at Logan's dejected look, "This is a start."

"Should we watch Jake and Celeste's alibi's?" he asks, pulling up the interview.

They spend the next two hours watching Veronica's father interrogate everyone, including Logan. It's a new experience for Veronica, because her Father has always talked to her with love and compassion, but he has none for these people as he grills Jake Kane about how long he had sex with his wife – about how he asks the questions people aren't sure to have thought of before hand. There is something fishy in the way Jake and Celeste Kane are answering their questions – and Veronica is almost _certain_ that they're lying.

"We're going to have to look into the Kane's more," she says, and Logan agrees with a meek bob of his head.

"I lied about my alibi," he says abruptly and quickly, his eyes downcast.

"What?" Veronica looks at him in surprise.

"I wasn't in Mexico like I said, I came back early and left a letter for Lily in her car, telling her it was really over this time. I watched as she talked to Madison for the last time, and I watched as she drove away."

"Why would you lie?" Veronica asks, something like anger filling her. _Frustration. _

"I didn't want them to think I would ever hurt her," he says honestly, his voice shaking slightly. "And I wouldn't Ronnie – I loved her, I loved Lily."

"I believe you," Veronica decides, and Logan looks at her in surprise, like he's expected her to get out of the car and walk home without him. "Like I said before, if you wanted to get her killer caught – you'd be pretty damn stupid to do everything you can to _catch_ the killer."

"Thanks Veronica," he says gratefully.

"Plus, no offense – but you don't really seem like that type," Veronica smiles, and then rubs at her eyes. "Thank god it's Saturday."

"How would I take offense that I'm not the murderer type?" Logan asks her, amused. Veronica throws her arms up in the air.

"I don't know! I'm tired and under caffeinated. Although I do think we have watched all that we really _need_ to, and I know what our next step is, and it's not a fun one."

"What's that?"

"We need to talk to my Dad," Veronica rubs at her eyes, "You say I'm good at solving things, but my Dad's the expert. If he had any leeway into this, he'll know."

"And what, he'll just tell us?" Logan asks, "Because I didn't really think he seemed like the type to just give us information."

"Are you ready to put on your acting hat again?" Veronica asks, her blue eyes meeting Logan's brown ones.

"Oh no."

"Oh _yes_," Veronica shook her head, "If you pretend to be my new boyfriend, my Dad will be so focused on the fact that you're here that I'll be able to break into his super secret safe."

"Do you know the combination?" Logan asks, and Veronica laughs.

"Of course, but he's always on the look out. That's where you come in."

"Oh dear god," Logan shakes his head, "Okay, when are we going to do this?"

"Next weekend," Veronica yawns, "I'll also have to tell Piz in case my Dad calls him with info."

Logan shifts his car into gear and starts back towards the college. "Sounds like a plan."


	7. Fucked Up

a/n: Okay I'm pretty sure Piz said he lived in Beaverton Oregon, so that's where Veronica's going to live tooJ I've never actually been there though… so please don't kill me if I get any details wrong.

"I'm going home today," Veronica announces at breakfast Friday morning, and Piz looks up at her in surprise.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asks, and Veronica waves her hand back and forth like it's unimportant.

"It's for a case," she says absently, "And speaking of… I need your help with something."

Piz looks disappointed, but replies regardless, "Sure."

"So this weekend, I need to get something from my Dad's safe," Veronica explains, "And Logan's going to pretend to be my boyfriend to distract my Dad."

"Why _Logan_?" Piz asks, "I mean, I understand why I couldn't – but couldn't you have asked like Wallace or something?"

"It's for Logan's case," Veronica explains, "And don't even ask. I can't tell you what it's about, but it's the most important…" she trails off for a moment, memories of her last big case flashing through her mind. "It's the most important one I've done so far," she says again, more confidently.

"So why do you need my help?" Piz asks, his eyes turning down towards the table.

"We both know my Dad is going to call and ask you about him, so I need you to tell him all about how awesome Logan is," Veronica winces, "I know it's not up your alley –"

"No it really isn't Veronica," Piz says, but he just sounds tired. " But when is anything you ever ask for simple?"

Logan chooses that moment to drop into the chair next to Veronica. "Hey Piz," he greets warmly, "Are you going to help us?"

"Apparently so, although I don't know with what," Piz says, rolling his eyes.

"Well I'll tell you," Logan says easily, and Veronica stares at him agape. "You guys have been friends forever right? I don't want to get in-between your little BFF bonding time. So I'll tell you, Veronica is helping me find out who killed my girlfriend," he says all the words with amusement, like this whole situation is funny, but Veronica can see the pain and anger in his eyes. "I'll pick you up after your class Ronnie," he finishes, and walks out of the cafeteria.

"Well that's just great," Veronica says, throwing down her spoon and glaring at Piz.

"His girlfriend was killed?" Piz is looking considerably less annoyed, instead something like sympathy crossing his face.

"Yes, and that's why I want to get this case solved," Veronica says, "and I didn't really think I could tell you. So next time you complain about me hanging out with Logan, just remember that." Veronica stands up, "Can you take care of my breakfast tray? I'm going to go and try to talk to him."

"Sure," Piz says, the most amicable he's been all year.

Veronica dashes outside the dining hall, "LOGAN!" she yells, running to catch up to him. He turns around, his brown eyes blazing.

"Don't you have to get back to your breakfast date?" he snarls, anger and sarcasm ringing through every syllable. He looks angry, frustrated, and it fills him, his every muscle quivering.

"Look I'm sorry about Piz," Veronica says, "He's just protective." To her surprise, Logan laughs bitterly.

"Are you really that _blind_ Veronica? Well I won't be the one to say it for the poor bastard."

"What's gotten into you?" Veronica asks, "Because if you're serious about this, you need to clean up your act." Her words make him flinch, and a shudder runs through his body.

"You're right," he says, mostly to himself, "I need to cool down. It just – I don't normally – most people know she's dead I haven't actually – don't know –"

"It's okay," Veronica reaches out to touch his shoulder, but he flinches away.

"I'll pick you up after your last class," he repeats, and she watches as he turns and walks away.

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It's a whole new Logan after her last class; he greets her with a smile and offers to carry her bag. It's only after she catches the whiff of alcohol on his breath after he leans in a little to close that she realizes why.

"Give me the keys," she says firmly, holding out her hand. He looks at her, confused. "My Mother was an alcoholic Logan, I know how to tell when someone's drunk. Give me the damn keys so I can drive you. And you better hope you're pretty fucking sober when we get to my Dad's house."

Logan looks at her in surprise, probably because he's never heard her swear. Normally she doesn't, she doesn't like the way the words taste on her tongue. Right now though, she's furious, a burning anger that's spreading through her body like wildfire.

"Are you angry Ronica?" he asks, and there's a slight slur to his words as he follows her to his car. She climbs in the drivers seat, and barely waits for him to climb in the passenger seat before she starts up the car.

"What do you think Logan?" she demands angrily, "I thought you understood. I thought your Mother drank and yet here you are, drowning your sorrows in liquor. Did you even think for a moment what that might mean?"

"Mean to who?" he asks, obviously confused.

"To _me_," she snarls, "I watched my Mom drown her sorrows through a bottle one to many times, and my Dad always pretended like everything was fine even when she couldn't stand on her own two feet, even when he found her in the bar on a Monday night – so yes Logan. It matters to me if you have drinking habits."

"I just—" Logan begins as they pull onto the highway, "It caught me off guard this morning and I wanted to be happy." His words are hollow, lonely.

"That's not the way to get happy," she says firmly, "Getting drunk or high _isn't_ a cure for feeling sad, it just enhances it. Believe me – I've tried it before too. And I'm guessing you have as well, but apparently you didn't come to the same conclusion as I did."

"My Mom always sat in the other room with a bottle of wine or vodka or whatever we had in the house," Logan says, "While my Dad—" he breaks off and starts again, "While my Dad always worked. I didn't exactly have the best examples. This is what I learned Ronnie. _That's all_."

"There's more to it though, isn't there?" Veronica demands, her eyes not leaving the road. "There's something you're not telling me, some secret you're keeping."

"Some secrets are better kept to ourselves," Logan says, "Because don't act like you're all high and mighty, Miss Perfect, when I know _you_ have one too," he leans over, and she can smell it on his breath, but also she can smell the woodsy smell she's always associated with Logan, and it almost calms her down. Almost. "It's probably a really dirty secret huh? Something you don't want to share? What's the thing that's fucked up about you?"

"And what makes you think I'm fucked up like you are?" Veronica shoots back, and Logan flinches.

"Because of the look in your eyes when you're angry," he says, "Because you're like me. You're on edge Mars, you don't trust people – you lie. You surround yourself with safe meaningless people because it makes you feel better. The fucked up people always find each other in the end."

"Is that why you asked me for help?" Veronica asks, as they cross the Neptune borderline. "Because I'm fucked up?"

"So we've stopped denying it?" Logan asks, but there's no amusement in his voice, "And to answer your question, I didn't know you were fucked-up until you yelled at me about drinking. I thought you were safe. Meaningless."

"And what am I now?"

He hesitates, and then replies, still a slight slur to his voice, "You're dangerous," he whispers, and then falls silent. Veronica turns on the radio and turns it up even though she hates the song, just to fill the silence.

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When they arrive to her Dad's house, Logan is asleep. He's been asleep for the last couple hours, and Veronica is grateful. Not only will it help him sober up, but it gives her time to think. She quite honestly didn't think that Logan would see her like for what she really was, because no one else had. She had almost managed to convince herself that the real her was just a dream, that she wasn't fucked-up, that she was _normal_.

She pauses for a moment, leaning her forehead against the steering wheel and taking deep, controlling breaths through her mouth. She could feel the frustration building deep inside her – frustration and _fear_. No one had seen the real her before, and now Logan had stripped her down, and even though she hadn't told him what happened to her, and she didn't know his secret, she felt like he had stripped her down to the bone, to her very core.

She quivers slightly, shaking with barely contained tears as flashbacks tear through her brain. Not even Piz or her Dad knew what really happened that week that she went missing, and she can't hold it in any longer. She wants to do a mixture of screaming and crying, and a fierce anger builds up insider at Logan. He couldn't just leave it alone, couldn't let her just keep going on in denial. He had to prove what she was trying to disprove. He had to bring back everything that had happened.

She snatches a glimpse at Logan; his head tipped back, his eyes closed. He looks years younger in his sleep, like all the stress and worry has evaporated from his body. He looks peaceful.

"Logan?" she says softly, and he doesn't budge. Not really concerned with being nice, she shoves him in the side.

"Dad -I swear I didn't do anything!" he cries, his eyes flying open. He's in a state of distress for a couple more seconds, and then quickly realizes his surroundings and calms down, his chest pumping like a metronome.

"Your guilty conscious is bleeding into your dreams," Veronica observes dryly, and Logan let's out a bitter laugh.

"You know, if we're going to pretend like we're in love Ronnie, you'll have to stop being angry at me."

"I'm not angry."

"Yes you are."

"Well Logan you're just full of insightful things on all things Veronica Mars aren't you? First you point out what a major fuck up I am, and then you determine my moods! What can't you do?" she steps out of the car and slams the door.

"Veronica I'm sorry about what I said earlier, it's not true I just was –"

"But that's exactly why I'm angry!" Veronica says, turning around. "Because you're _right_ Logan. _You're_ right. I'm fucked up. But _so are you_." She stalks towards her Dad's house, and doesn't bother to see if Logan's following.

She only notices when she raises her hand to knock on the door and Logan slips his fingers through the other hand, and she can feel the quivering in his fingers. She knows that she should talk to him some more, but if there's something she does well, it's running from things she doesn't want to do. She slams her hand, hard, against the door.

"This should be fun," Logan says as they hear footsteps approaching the door. Veronica turns to him, glaring.

"Don't screw up," she says, "This could be our big break."

The door swings open, and they are looking at a surprised Keith Mars.

"Veronica?" he questions, and Veronica turns off all her angry emotions like a tap. She forces a bright cheery smile, and bounds into her Dad's arms.

"Surprise!" she calls happily, hugging him tightly. He's obviously surprised, but she doesn't give him time to react before she's pulling away and taking Logan's hand again. "I just _really_ wanted you to meet my new boyfriend, Logan!"

Logan smiles, "I actually think we've met before Sugarpuss," he says in a goofily happy voice, "But I can't really think from _when_."

"Me either," Keith lies, but his eyes are wary. Veronica stiffens, so now he's lying her to even still. What was he trying to hide?

"Oh well," she says brightly, stepping into the house. "We're here to stay for the weekend! I wanted to show Logan around my home town since he's never been here before."

"Of course," Keith smiles, "I'll just order some food for us all? Pizza?"

"Yes please," Logan nods, "Just nothing with shellfish."

"Who makes shellfish pizza?" Veronica inquires, "Well Dad while you do that, I'm going to have Logan set down his stuff in my room."

Keith Mars is still in a trance, probably shocked by the fact that his daughter has just shown up on his porch, carting a boy who he interrogated for murder two years ago. She doesn't care though, she's angry with him. She's so angry with him that she forgets to be angry with Logan for a moment, and as soon as they enter the safety of her room she flops down on the bed, closing her eyes tightly. Logan hesitates at the edge of her bed.

"Ronnie?" he asks, and she ignores him. A couple minutes pass, and he tries again. "Ronnie?"

"What?" she asks, "What can you say to make this better?"

"I was drunk?" he offers up, "I didn't mean to say it like that. What I meant was that you got me, that you understood the pain I felt inside somehow. That's what I was thinking anyways, but fucked-up came out."

"Do you wonder why my Dad is so surprised that I brought home a boyfriend?" she sits up, her blue eyes seeking Logan's brown ones. He meets her's with a surprising openness. She doesn't give him a chance to reply but instead continues – "Or why I left this sorry little town? Why I'm so fucked-up? Because you and I both know that having Mother's who drown their sorrows isn't enough to make you as fucked-up as we are."

"Can we use a different choice of words?" Logan murmurs, "It's like hearing a cute little girl swear."

Veronica continues like she never heard him, "And maybe I'll tell you someday. Maybe I'll tell you and you'll feel pretty damn awful about what you said to me, but for right now I'm letting it go."

"You're what?"

"I'm letting it go. I'm forgiving you for what you said," she says, and pretends like it's easy to forgive him when in fact it's the exact opposite. It's like pulling something out of herself and leaving it bare and naked for him to see. "Because I'm angry at my Dad and I don't need to be angry at _you_ too. Besides, you just inadvertently called me cute."

Logan blushes, "That wasn't what I—"

"No more serious talk," she says, planting one of her fingers on his lips. She's automatically distracted because oh sweet lord she's touching his _lips_ which is so awkward and –"DID YOU JUST LICK ME?!"


	8. Falling to Pieces

a/n: So it was pointed out to me by a lovely reviewer that the drive would be way to long if they actually lived in Beaverton, so we're going to switch the locations to like Barstow…okay? Sorry about the random change.

"So how did you two meet?" Keith asks at an awkward dinner. Veronica knew that surprising her Father was sadly the only option she really had. If he had known she was coming, he would have put up all the defenses, and probably locked his bedroom to boot.

"We ran into each other at the bowling alley," Veronica gushes, her voice overwhelmingly bright and cheery, "And he asked me out to dinner right away."

"Oh you tell that story so well," Logan responds, picking at his cheese pizza. Keith is looking between them, surprised, and Veronica can only assume why. She's never really acted this way in the past, but she feels like she needs to act. If she's trying to act like herself, she thinks that she would end up stabbing him with a fork or something.

"I need to use the bathroom," Veronica excuses herself, "You boys just keep chatting up a storm," she rests her hand on Logan's shoulder for a moment before disappearing down the hallway. Her Dad's room is right next to the bathroom, and she closes the bathroom door so it looks like she's in there, before she slips into his room.

His safe is in the corner, and she creeps silently towards it. Once close, she bends down and begins to twist the dial back and forth expertly – what her Dad didn't know was that she had known his combination for _ages_. Or maybe he had assumed that she knew and decided that there was nothing she would be interested in anyways.

The door swings open, and it reveals a thick stack of case files. Praying that her Dad at least keeps _this_ part organized, she begins to flick through them, noting all the files he hasn't told her about. Not that it's that much of a surprise anymore. It's when she pulls out a file that's labeled _Kyle Mannson _that she almost freezes. What was her Dad doing _investigating_ that? It was over now. Done. She almost takes the file, but the memory of Logan's brown eyes comes to her mind. She can only hide one file up her shirt.

She quickly flicks through the rest – knowing that men just expected women to take a long time in the bathroom, but she's already been gone a while and even her Dad might start to wonder.

Finally the file marked Lily Kane comes into view and Veronica snatches it up. It's surprisingly heavy and thick. She tucks it in between the waistband of her jeans and her shirt, and then darts into the bathroom and flushes the toilet.

"Are you feeling okay?" Keith asks as she resumes her seat. Veronica smiles.

"Yeah Dad I'm fine," she waves a hand in the air absent mindedly, "Just had some bad food on the way up." Her Dad resumes his conversation with Logan – about baseball Veronica thinks – and she reaches under the table and squeezes Logan's knee. He visibly relaxes; probably assuming she's gotten the files for them to look at tomorrow.

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"Logan's my boyfriend Dad," Veronica protests several hours later, "He's not going to sleep on the _couch_."

Keith looks like he's going to put up a fight, but Veronica grabs Logan's hand and pulls him after her into her room. She slams the door behind her, signifying she's annoyed, and then releases Logan's hand.

"I seriously could have slept on the couch you know," Logan says sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I want him to suffer through the night thinking what you could be doing to me in here," Veronica declares grimly, and Logan snorts with laughter.

"You're really pissed huh?" he asks, and she nods.

"But I meant what I said. You don't have to sleep on the couch. I'm the one that dragged you up here, you can take the bed."

"It's your room Veronica, and I hired you," he protests, but she shook her head.

"You deserve it. You had to listen to my Dad grill you about everything, and you aren't even really my boyfriend." She took a couple of blankets from the closet and started to make a bed on the floor. Logan shifts uncomfortably.

"What if he walks in?"

"So?"

"Shouldn't – I mean you have a pretty big bed –" he's blushing furiously now, and she can't help but laugh.

"Are you trying to get in my pants Echolls?" she teases, and he shakes his head vigorously.

"Not with your Dad in the next room," he stage whispers, and she laughs nervously.

"Fine. But you better stick to your half of the bed Logan. I mean it. No funny business."

She goes into her closet to change into her PJs, and when she comes out Logan is changed as well. She lies on the opposite side, turned away from him, and tries desperately not to think of the mere inches between them.

This was going to be a long night.

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The next day, under the pretense that Veronica is showing him around town, they find a deserted corner of the local park and look at the Lily Kane murder files. It's not something that normal girls do with their boyfriends, Veronica muses to herself, but of course _Logan's not her boyfriend_.

For a moment though, she let's herself imagine what would happen if they were actually dating and she had really just taken him up here to show him around her home town. She would take him to her favorite ice cream place, they would walk around her favorite haunts, they would maybe even drive to Los Angeles, singing cheesy songs at the top of their lungs. Logan would kiss her forehead when he left to pump gas, and she would happier than she had been in such a long time.

Of course though, she thinks as she stretches out on her stomach, she just had to be looking at murder files in the park with someone who's _not_ her boyfriend, someone who sees her for who she really is. Besides, neither of them were _those_ people.

She flips open the folder before Logan can sit down, and takes a harsh breath. The girl, Lily, is lying splayed on her back, eyes staring unseeingly to the side, blood dripping down her cheek in a grim pattern, her arms flopped above her head.

"Logan don't –" she tries to say, but Logan reaches forward and takes the picture from her hands anyways.

"I've already seen this," he declares, "Your Dad showed it to me on the day he interrogated me," he tries to give her a smile, but it just seems fake and sad. "Don't worry about me Veronica."

Veronica takes the picture back anyways and tucks it out of sight. "It doesn't do us any good to look at pictures of her body," she tells him, brushing a few strands of her hair out of her eyes.

"Are these –"

"Full transcripts of the interrogation," Veronica says, and then pulls out her camera phone and takes a picture of a few. "Just in case," she explains, and flicks those aside.

"Here we go," Logan says, pulling out a sheet of paper, "Notes."

"Basically a summary," Veronica says, pulling the paper back. "It's pointing out the holes in Jake and Celeste's alibi, and –" she frowns suddenly down at the paper. "He writes about how when he got there, they were doing laundry."

"Seems like an odd thing to do when your daughter just got murdered."

"They were washing Duncan's soccer uniform," Veronica breaths, "But why would they do that? Why would they do that without a reason?"

"Look at what it says here," Logan points to a certain sentence, a crease forming in-between his brows. "It says Duncan was on meds for 'Psychological issues', what could those be?"

"And may I ask what you two are doing?" Her Dad asks from behind them, and Logan and Veronica whirl around, trying to stuff the papers out of sight before he can see them.

"Just making out in the grass," Veronica says sarcastically, "C'mon Pops, are you that slow?"

"I know how to tell when someone's been in my safe Veronica," Keith goes on, anger evident in his voice. "And I thought I told you I didn't want you to be investigating anymore –"

"I'm sorry Dad, but I'm legally my _own_ person," Veronica stands up, crossing her arms over her chest. "You can't tell me what to do."

"Bullshit Veronica," Keith swears, and Veronica flinches. "We used to be really close, you _used_ to tell me everything. Then Kyle came along and what happened? Now you're breaking into my safe, taking things, doing _murder_ investigations?"

"You've changed too," Veronica snarls, "Because I don't remember you being one of those controlling Dad's before, but I guess I was wrong. And have you ever thought, even for a moment, that maybe I changed because of Kyle? And that's why I'm doing these things? Because if you want me to go back to being your perfect little girl, you can go fuck yourself."

She storms away, leaving Logan to pick up the papers. She's so angry, and she doesn't know why.

It's true that she and her Dad were close before, they used to be _best friends_. Especially after her Mom left. Then Kyle came along and fucked her up, and her Dad was still looking at her like the bright bubbly girl she used to be, like the person who didn't ever lie to him and had a bright future and so many things going for her. That's why she moved away. That's why she chose to escape, because while her Dad pretended she was okay, she couldn't _be_ okay.

"Ronnie!" Logan calls, and he's running up behind her. "Ronnie wait up!"

"Sorry about that," she mutters, but doesn't stop walking.

"What are you apologizing for? It's my fault," Logan says, and she turns to stare at him.

"It's your fault?" she repeats, "Where the hell did you come up with that one?"

"Without me you and your Dad would still be on okay terms," Logan says, and Veronica shakes her head.

"We haven't been on okay terms for while," she admits, "I just think neither of us realized it until today."

"Who's Kyle?" Logan asks, and Veronica's expecting it. You can't just get in a screaming fight with your Father about someone named Kyle and not ask about it.

"You don't watch the news do you?" she asks, "But I supposed if you really wanted to know you could just google it."

"I won't," he swears, "I won't pry until you want me to." She looks at him in surprise, and he shrugs. "It's your place to tell me, not the Internet."

"I may never tell you," she warns him, and he gives her a halfhearted smile.

"I probably won't ever tell you what my secret is either," he says, "So we're even."

She laughs, the laugh bitter and angry. "I don't know where you came from Echolls, but you're breaking everything into pieces."

"Wasn't everything already falling apart?" is all he says in return.


	9. Theories

a/n: Sorry this chapter isn't my favorite, I don't really like it all that much. Still - it needed to be written because it's actually quite important.

Also, just a reminder - they are not solving the case the exact same way as in the show. It just doesn't work like that. It doesn't fit as well without basically doing a rewrite of season one.

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She's trying to discreetly collect her and Logan's items from her room and bring it out to Logan's car (where he's waiting) because she doesn't really want to talk to her Dad anymore. She doesn't want to see the hurt in his eyes – the hurt _she's _caused.

"Going somewhere?" her Dad asks from the doorway, and Veronica wheels around like she's still sixteen and was just caught with a boy in her room.

"You tell me," she bites back, and shoves Logan's fallen shirt into her bag.

"So you're working for Logan Echolls," her Dad says, leaning against the doorframe.

"Yes I am," Veronica sounds defensive, even though she's pretty sure her Dad hasn't actually said anything against Logan yet.

"Look Veronica, I think his head is in the right spot, but there's a darkness to that kid."

"There's a darkness to me too," Veronica says honestly, zipping up her backpack with perhaps a bit too much force.

"When did that happen?" Keith asks sadly, his eyes far away. "You used to be the girl who liked boy bands and singing using a hairbrush as a microphone. Now you're solving murder cases for bad boys."

"I changed," Veronica shrugs, "It's something that people do. And Logan has helped me change some, yes – but not in a bad way."

_Logan has shown me who I really am_, she wants to say, _he understands what it's like to feel so much pain for something that's happened in the past. He understands what it's like to have a mother abandon you. _

"I'll take your word for it," Keith says amicably, and Veronica looks up at him in surprise. She doesn't expect him to just go along with what she's saying – simply because that's not how they've worked in the past. They've never really fought, but when they do they always get so angry and refuse to hear reason. _I guess we've both changed_.

"Then can you help us?" Veronica asks, her voice warbling slightly. "Dad you know as well as I do that the real killer needs to be caught for this and apprehended."

"I don't like the fact that you're doing this. Do you remember the last time you worked on a case like this?"

"You know I'll never forget it," Veronica says softly, "And that has nothing to do with this. Don't bring it up again."

"Are you sure you want to go through with this? There's something not good about this Veronica, and I need you to be entirely sure."

"I'm sure," Veronica smiles, "You're being awfully chill about this, even for you."

"You're a grown woman now," Keith tries for a halfhearted smile but it rather fails and more looks like a grimace. "I can't stop you if I wanted to. I may as well give you what I know so you can figure it out in a safer way."

"Have you figured it out?" Veronica asks, suddenly very interested.

"Not yet," Keith shakes his head, "I think I was on the brink of something, but they wanted me out of town because I accused Jake Kane too early. You may be able to figure it out."

"Let me grab Logan," Veronica says quickly, and then practically runs to Logan's car.

"Did your Dad kick you out or something?" he asks curiously as she stops, panting for breath.

"He's going to help us!" she gasps, her eyes bright and wide. "C'mon!"

Logan looks shocked, but doesn't waste time as he jumps out of the car and follows her back into the house. Keith is sitting at the dining room table, his hands folded on top of the Lily Kane murder file. Logan sits down next to Veronica, and she can feel him practically quivering with nerves and excitement underneath the table.

She reaches out and takes his hand form underneath the table; mostly for her own needs then his own. She almost expects him to pull away, but he holds her hand tighter and his nervous trembling stops.

"So what's first?" Veronica asks, her eyes meeting her Dad's.

"Well assuming you've watched my interrogation of the suspects," Keith flips open the file, "You'll know why it seems fishy that Duncan can't remember anything and Celeste and Jake's alibi's seem made up."

"Do we know why Duncan can't remember anything?" Veronica asks eagerly, "Is there a medical reason why?"

"He has a diagnosed medical disorder that means parts of his memory get's blocked out when he goes into a undeniable rage. It is a possibility that he was the one who killed Lily and just couldn't remember afterwards, but of course we have no evidence attaining to that fact."

"But why would Jake and Celeste lie about their alibi's?" Logan asks, "And why would Abel Koontz confess?"

"He could've been paid off," Veronica says, "But if someone is going to die, then why would money work?"

"If the money was being sent to someone else," Logan says, "Because we know he's innocent. But if let's say, the Kane's promised his children money or something – I could see a decent person wanting that."

"But not a decent person," Veronica decides firmly, "Do we have any money records of Kane industries paying off someone?"

"It would be nearly impossible to track," Keith shakes his head, "I do know he has a daughter though…she could know something?"

"Is this what we should be focusing on though?" Veronica asks seriously, "I mean, Abel Koontz is already dead. Didn't he die in prison _before_ he was put to death by lethal injection anyways?"

"I think the papers said he had a rare type of stomach cancer," Logan says, and Veronica shoots up out of her chair, does a little twirl and laughs.

"That's it!" she claps her hands and points to Logan, "If he was already dying, and wanted some money for his daughter – of course he would accept the pay off from the Kane's! It only makes sense, in fact it probably would have given him a shorter death if the trial wasn't pulled out for so long."

"So the Kane's are behind this?" Logan asks, and something inside his eyes flickers. "But why would they cover up their daughter's murder? What motive do they have for that?"

"Duncan," Keith and Veronica say at the same time, and then Veronica elaborates. "If Duncan got angry and had one of his episodes, then killed her – the Kane's wouldn't want that getting out. So they cover her murder, preventing the real killer from being apprehended."

"So _Duncan_ was the one that killed Lily?" Logan sounds lost, and Veronica wonders why. Wasn't this what he wanted? Didn't he want her real killer caught?

"I mean we don't have any real evidence to prove that yet," Veronica shakes her head, "But right now it's looking likely. We should still see if Abel Koontz's daughter will tell us anything."

Logan shakes his head and pushes back from the table. "I need some air," he mutters. He pushes his way out of the house and Veronica looks back, meeting eyes with her Father.

"I'm going to go after him," she tells him, and darts out after Logan. He's sitting on the porch steps, his head held in his hands, rocking back and forth slightly as if trying to regain his calm.

"Hey," she whispers softly, sitting next to him.

"Hey," he says back, "Sorry, it's just a lot. I mean, Duncan and I haven't been friends for _years_, but it's just hard to believe that he could possibly kill Lily. I mean we were the awesome threesome – foursome when Meg came along and he loved her. He _loved_ Lily like we all did, and I can't imagine him killing her."

"Listen," Veronica sets her hand on his knee, "We don't have any real evidence yet, and this could be just a theory, and it could be proven wrong. Either way, I think the Kane's covered it up. They could have just assumed it was Duncan and covered it up when it was someone else."

"We aren't going to just leave it here?" he looks up at her hopefully and she shakes her head.

"Of course not," she says, "We still need evidence, and we also need to see the real killer put behind bars. Until then, we won't stop until we both are ground into ashes."

"Thank you Veronica," he tells her, his voice ringing with truth.

"It's really no problem," she says, and before she can stop herself she leans forward and kisses his cheek. "I'm happy to help." Then she darts back inside before anything else can come of it.

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They decide to take a break from discussing the case and are eating dinner when Logan's phone rings.

"It's Madison," he says, frowning.

"Pick it up," Veronica says around a mouthful of lasagna. "Just remember to mention your girlfriend." Logan winks at her, and accepts the call.

"Hey Maddy…You do?" he steps up and away from the table, frowning slightly as he goes. Veronica looks worriedly after him, despite all – he's becoming one of her best friends. (Especially since Piz is acting like a total _asshole_.)

"Any idea what that could mean?" Keith asks, his eyes flickering between her and Logan. "And I thought the boyfriend thing was just an act to get into my safe."

"It is," Veronica says quickly, "But we also wanted to get this one girl to give us answers and Logan didn't really want to sit through her trying to get into is pants the whole time." Keith nods like he understands, and an awkward silence presses down on them. She hates this, hates the walls that have suddenly sprung up between them—the walls that are there in part, because of Kyle.

Logan is walking back towards the table now, a strange look on his face, like he's found something sour resting on the edge of his tongue.

"Madison told me something else she remembered about Lily's last days," he says, and she can see his knuckles turn white as he clutches his phone even tighter.

"What is it?" Veronica asks, abandoning her dinner completely and turning to look at Logan.

"She said that before Lily told her about the secret," Logan took a deep breath like it pained him, "That she had said she was just back from visiting a lover."

"A lover that I'm assuming wasn't you?" Keith asks, and although he doesn't sound like he's trying to hurt Logan, it looks a hurricane passes over his face, turning it from shocked to hurt to anger.

"No it wasn't me," he spits, "But I was thinking that if Duncan found Lily having sex with someone else he might have gone crazy and attacked her."

"Or…" Veronica trails off, "She could have been killed by the lover himself," she finishes the unspoken thought Logan is having.

"Or maybe it's nothing," Keith adds unhelpfully, but Veronica's eyes are still fixed on Logan – who looks like he's collapsing in on himself, his eyes distant and sad.

"I don't know," Logan suddenly mumbles, and for the second time that night he exits out the front door, his body shaking and she can see the tears in his eyes, and for the second time, Veronica follows him out the door.

"Logan!" she calls, stepping down the steps, approaching him like one might approach a wounded animal.

"It's okay Veronica," he laughs, a sound that somehow feels worse than if he was crying, "It's not like she didn't flaunt it in my face at every opportunity."

"You didn't really believe it before now though," Veronica says, shaking her head. She takes a step forward, but Logan just shakes his head.

"It's okay Ronnie, it really is," he repeats, a terrifying smile filling his face, "I can stop feeling guilty. I can stop feeling terrible about even _looking_ another girl in the eyes. LILY KANE FUCKED ME OVER AGAIN!" he suddenly yells, his eyes turned skywards, "I BET YOU'RE GETTING A GOOD LAUGH, AREN'T YOU LIL?"

Veronica knows she should tell him to stop, but she doesn't really think that would help anything, because how does it make any sense? It would just fuel his fire. So instead she throws her head back and yells too at the sky.

"IF THE LESSON YOU'RE TRYING TO TEACH US LILY IS THAT LIFE IS A BITCH UNTIL YOU DIE, THEN YOU'RE DOING A FUCKING GOOD JOB AT THAT."

They yell various insults at everyone – Duncan Kane, Piz, Veronica's Mom, Logan's Mom, anyone that's really made them angry or been rude or _anything._ By the end all the neighbors are standing on their porches (_Is that the Mars girl? Is she crazy?_) and are staring but Veronica doesn't really care.

She feels closer to Logan then she's been to anyone since her Mom left, and it feels so good. It feels like she's opened up a part of her that only he understands, even if she's voiced all her thoughts for the whole world to see. All they see is a crazy person, but she knows Logan sees _her_. He sees Ronnie, the girl he's asked for help from and can't help but get close to, not Veronica – sweet little Veronica Mars who couldn't do anything wrong.

She sees him too.


	10. Abuse

a/n: Let there be secrets revealed.

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"Well I'm going out on a date," Mac says from the doorway, her hand playing with the strap of her bag as if nervous her roommate is going to grill her for details. Veronica, however, barely glances up.

"Have fun. Should I expect you back tonight?" she asks, scratching in another note on the page devoted to 'useless Lily Kane trivia', still trying to figure out who her mysterious lover was. Madison had said she had just come back from meeting him. That person could potentially know something – or could also know nothing. There was something about it though – call it a gut feeling – that made her sure that this mysterious lover held the key to everything. That he was the one who would help her figure this out.

"Veronica, are you even listening?" Mac asks impatiently from the doorway.

"Yes," Veronica answers without really thinking, and Mac sighs.

"I won't be back until tomorrow," her roommate repeats, and with that she leaves. Veronica stares back down at her paper, absently doodling a lily flower in the margins as she mentally runs through the list of main suspects _again_.

The door slides open and Veronica is expecting it to be Mac, come back for her keys or something, but the groan of "_Ronnie_," makes her head flick up.

"Logan?" she asks, sliding the notebook shut and standing up. As soon as she gets a good look at him however, she wishes that she had kept looking at the bed, the floor, anything else.

The image in front of her _shouldn't _alarm her, she knows that. Logan is leaning against the door, his eyes shut, almost like he's just really tired. There's something though (Maybe it's her newfound closeness to Logan) that's just entirely _wrong_ about the way he's leaning against the door, like the fight has been drained out of him and he's in so much pain.

"Ronnie," Logan repeats, his brown eyes sliding open. They're glistening with tears, and that's when she _really_ knows that something's seriously wrong. His voice sounds hollow, like it's Halloween and he's a Logan jack'o lantern that's had its innards scraped clean.

"Logan what's wrong?" she demands, her voice shaking slightly as she steps a wary step towards him, like he's a frightened animal she's just hit with her car. He suddenly looks scared, like he's doubting every single decision he's made that led him to this moment, right here.

"I should –" he reaches for the doorknob behind him (he must have shut the door when she wasn't looking) like he's going to leave. Veronica steps forward, and wraps her hand around his wrist, anchoring him here.

"You _aren't_ going to do that to me right now Logan," Veronica says, her voice serious, "Don't even _think_ about it."

He shakes his head like he's trying to clear water from his ears, and when he speaks again it sounds like he's on the verge of tears. "I didn't have anywhere else to go."

"What happened?"

"My Dad found out we've been investigating," Logan says, "Well that _I've_ been investigating again."

"Did he kick you out?" while that doesn't explain why he's in so much pain; it's the only logical explanation Veronica's mind can form.

"No," Logan chokes out, "Well…sort of. I don't know but I needed to get these treated and I can't go to the hospital and I can't reach and you're the only person who—"

Veronica raises one hand, cutting hi off mid-ramblings. "Slow down," she instructs, "What are you talking about?"

He lowers his hands to the edges of his T-shirt, shrugging out of his jacket. It hits the floor in a pool of fabric as he begins to lift the shirt over his head; small gasps escaping from his mouth as he does so. He's gotten it about halfway off when Veronica thinks to say something.

"Logan—" she begins in a nervous voice, wondering why the hell he's taking off his shirt _in her room_.

Logan merely smiles, a sad little broken smile and says, "Didn't you want to know my secret Ronnie?" and he brutally yanks the rest of the shirt off his head.

She gasps in horror. It's true she's always wondered what his secret was, but she never imagined it to be like this. His whole chest, back and arms are covered with scars, burns, and bloody lacerations. It's like something from a newscast, the kind you see everyday, the ones that are so horrible they almost look fictional, unreachable they don't touch you – but this is horribly real and horribly right in front of her. She recognizes cigarette burns on his arms, the marks from a belt buckle on his back, even a cigar-shaped burn on his stomach. Those are all fresh, bleeding, filling the room with the smell of burnt skin, but there are other marks. Silvery pale scars against his perpetually tan skin. Scars that speak of _year_s of abuse, not this one time.

The words _My Dad found out we'd been investigating_ run through Veronica's head on an endless loop, the realization of who has done this to Logan, to her good, honest to god Logan, who has been _doing _this to him, strikes her at that moment.

"Oh my god," she whispers, her hand moving to cover her mouth. Logan turns to look at her, his head bowed in shame like it's his fault for being like this. Like any of this is _his fault_. A cycle of images parades through Veronica's mind like pictures on a slideshow. Logan, wearing long sleeves and jeans even when it was hot outside and they were on the beach. Logan loving to surf but never unzipping his wetsuit to the waist like everyone else did. Madison Sinclair looking surprised he had a girlfriend, someone who he might potentially take his shirt off for – at all. Logan telling her how only he could be punished for this. LoganLoganLogan.

"How long has this been going on?" she finally asks, finding her voice at last.

"As long as I can remember," Logan says softly, "But it got worse after my Mom died. At first he tried to become the family man but I wasn't buying it so he took to beating me even harder instead. For everything, for nothing, because I took a piece of gum without permission, because I blew my nose to loudly – you name it."

Veronica takes a deep steadying breath, and then pulls a First Aide kit out from under bed, suddenly grateful that her Dad has insisted that she take this extra large one with her to college.

"Sit down," her voice is tight, controlled. She gestures towards the bed with a tight motion, trying not to cry. He wouldn't appreciate her tears. Logan moves slowly, hitting her bed with a groan of pain. Veronica opens the first aide kit, pulling out bandages, bottles of disinfectant, towels, and burn salve. "I'm guessing tonight was worse than normal?" she asks, trying to sound like they're talking about baseball instead of his Dad's abuse, but fails epically.

Logan surprises her when he starts to cry, silently, big fat tears dripping down his nose. "Oh Logan," she whispers, moving so her face was facing his. She bent down before him on the bed and then took him into her arms, mindful of the places where he's freshly injured. He presses his face into her shoulder, his mouth brushing against the delicate skin on the side of her neck. She can feel his tears soaking her shirt but only holds him closer.

"Why me Ronnie?" he asks, his lips quivering against her skin. "Why does all this happen to me?"

Veronica presses a kiss to his hair and just holds him. She doesn't have an answer for his question. How can you tell someone who's been abused by his Father all his life, who's Mother committed suicide and left him alone, who's girlfriend cheated on him and was murdered, who's been called crazy and a jackass and delusional. How can you tell them why this all has happened to them? How can you have an answer for someone who has nothing left to live for but keeps on going anyways?

He's the one who pulls away in the end, and she takes place behind him, preparing to treat his injuries.

"This is going to sting," she tells him, dumping a portion of the disinfectant on a towel and lifting it to one of the bloody lacerations. Logan doesn't make a sound as she gently brushes at the wound, cleaning away the blood slowly but surely.

They don't say a word, but are stuck in some weird bizarre silence – the abused boy and the girl he's come to for help. There are no words that can be exchanged to fix this, to make this better. There are only the gentle swipes of the towel, and their chests which both pump up and down like they've been running for miles. Veronica's keeping her mind totally focused on treating Logan's wounds, because it's the only thing stopping her from driving to Logan's house and taking a crowbar to Aaron Echolls' face. Who could do this to their own flesh and blood? Who could willingly hurt someone because they were just unlucky enough to be there?

It's only after she applies the last bandage do her emotions start to take over. She stands up, hands shaking.

"He's going to _pay_," she hisses, "I'm going to make him _pay_."

"No Ronnie, you can't," he says quickly, and grabs her arm and yanks her back down onto the bed so she's sitting next to him again. "You can't," he repeats.

"Logan we can't let this continue," Veronica says seriously, "Why are you still with him anyways? He's going to _kill_ you!"

"I can't leave," Logan whispers, "I don't know how he did it, but he paid off a judge or a lawyer or _someone_ – and said I was too traumatized by my Mother's death to be living on my own. He said I wasn't fit to take care of myself, and they listened."

Veronica can feel her every belief about the legal system crashing down as she looks him in the eyes, "You legally can't leave? Then why not take your abuse to the police or _something_."

"He'll just pay them off in some way," Logan says miserably, "When I was eighteen I tried to call the cops on him – that's why I have contacts inside the police station. The officer that came couldn't do anything because my Dad threatened him, but he said if I needed any other favors I could come to him."

"We could get your custody transferred to someone else," Veronica starts, brow furrowing, "Or do something that makes it seem like you're fit to take care of yourself."

Logan smiles weakly, "Nice try Ronnie," he says, shaking his head. "But I've already tried everything. The only way to get out of it is to get married or engaged or something – and I quite honestly don't think anyone would want to marry this," he points to himself.

"We could do it," she says quickly before she can think, and he looks at her in surprise.

"We could do what?"

"Pretend to be engaged," Veronica says, "At least to the court and your Father. That will buy us some time to get you out of there."

"You'd really do that for me?" she knows it's serious when Logan doesn't even try to protest, just looks at her with big hopeful eyes.

"Just because we can't send the bastard to jail yet, and I _will_ send him to jail someday, but the first step is getting you away from there."

Logan's brown eyes melt into her's, hopeful and sad and happiness all blended into one color. Her mouth opens to say something else, but then it goes blissfully blank.

She doesn't know who leans forward first, she doesn't know who starts it, but suddenly they're kissing and it's like breathing fresh air. He tastes like tears and blood, but his mouth is heard against her's, yearning, searching for _something_. She loops her arms around his shoulder's like it's reflex, and his hands start rubbing along the line of her spine. He's still shirtless and she runs her fingers over his scarred muscles, not breaking for air. Somehow they ease backwards onto the bed, his body resting gingerly on top of her's, like he's scared he's going to hurt her. She isn't in the mood for cautious though, and she yanks him down, her lips caressing his. She's never kissed anyone like this before – and it feels so _right_. It feels like her entire soul is blending into his in a perfect resonance – and she doesn't _want_ it to stop.

Of course, right when Logan's hands start playing with the edge of her shirt and Veronica's starting to kiss him all over his face in wet slobbery kisses and they might be going _somewhere_ – Piz opens the door and walks in.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" he shouts, and Veronica and Logan split apart like Piz is her Dad and she's sixteen. Logan is still on top of her though, and Veronica struggles out from under him as he seems to be in a moment of shock, her body moving to covering his. Piz doesn't need to see the marks on his body.

"Piz!" Veronica says, painfully aware of the fact that her lips are swollen from Logan's mouth, "Why are you here?"

Piz stares at her in astonishment, and Logan quickly manages to get his shirt over his head.

"You're sleeping with him?" he demands, and Veronica shakes her head.

"Piz it's not—why do you even care?" she suddenly asks, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. Logan stands up as well, and he looks down at Veronica – something else in his brown eyes.

"I'll just leave you guys to it then," he mumbles, "I'll get to you later Veronica about – what we were just talking about." Then he ducks out the door, forgetting his jacket.

Piz turns on her as soon as the door shuts, "What are you doing with him?"

He demands.

"He's my _friend_ Piz," Veronica spits, not in the mood for the old arguments.

"He looked like a little more than your friend right there!" Piz shouts, his face contorted in anger.

"So what if he is?" Veronica asks, confusion replacing anger. "He can be more if I want him to be more."

Piz looks like he's on the verge on saying something, but instead he steps forward and for the second time that night – Veronica gets kissed.

Piz is warm and tastes like happiness, but he also tastes like the old Veronica and she shoves him away, ducking her face.

"What was that?" she demands, stepping away. She won't deny – there was a time when she thought she and Piz would inevitably end up together, but that was before, and this was now.

"I'm in love with you Veronica," Piz pleads, stepping forward, but Veronica takes another step back.

"So that's why you've been treating me like shit ever since I started taking cases for Logan? That's why you were so upset that I wouldn't share an apartment with you? That's why you treat Logan like he has some sort of disease?"

"Veronica –" Piz starts forward, and she can see that she's breaking his heart and crushing it into pieces, but she can't find herself caring. He _has_ been a jackass.

"No," she shook her head, "You don't get to treat Logan like shit because of me. You don't treat people like shit if you're in love with them – so why don't we both stop fooling each other? I'm not in love with you, and let me tell you, you really don't want to be in love with me."

"Why not?!" Piz looks desperate.

"Because I'm fucked-up," Veronica tells him plainly. "Kyle did that to me. And I can't be fixed, and you deserve someone whole Piz. You deserve someone who can love you _right_."

"What about Logan?" Piz now looks defeated, and the fact that she's the one who put that expression on his face _does_ make her feel sad in some way.

"I don't know what's going to happen with that," she answers truthfully, "But I do know that Logan understands what it's like to be fucked-up. And you don't Piz. That's a good thing – just not for me."

She picks up Logan's jacket from the floor, and leaves the room.

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She finds him on the closest beach, having borrowed the girl next door's car to get there. He's sitting on the sand, his knees pulled to his chest, his eyes fixed on the water. His shirt is slightly bloodstained, and she greets him by dropping his jacket over his shoulders.

"Hi," she says softly, taking a seat next to him.

"Hey," he answers back, just as quietly.

"I'm not ready to talk about what just happened," she tells him plainly, "I need to sort out things in my head first, and I'm sure you need to as well. So for right now, let's pretend the kiss _didn't_ happen."

"Couldn't you have told me that tomorrow?" Logan asks, annoyed.

"That's not why I came out here," Veronica chides, "I came out here because I realized something after sorting things out with Piz."

"And that was?"

"That you told me your secret – even if you were kind of forced to," she says, "And since you were so open with me, I decided to tell you my secret."

"You don't have to do that Ronnie –" he protests, his eyes downcast, but she can hear the curiosity in his voice.

"Hey," she says teasingly, "If we're going to pretend to be engaged – you deserve to know about my past."

"You also don't have to do that," he adds, "I can take care of myself."

"I'm going to help you Logan don't even try," she tells him plainly, rolling her eyes. "Anyways, it started at the end of my Junior year of high school, when I started to date Kyle. At first, we were really happy. He was your sort of typical high school boyfriend and I was your typical preppy pep squad girl that everyone made fun of. I took cases for people then too, and it was then that I took a case for Kyle's sister, Debbie. She wanted me to figure out if her older brother was in on this drug dealing ring, and I accepted because I thought it seemed like fun investigating.

"I figured out who was in the drug ring – how deep they were in – but it wasn't the younger brother. It was Kyle. He was the – he was the _leader_. He was a year older, and I don't know how a senior in high school becomes the leader of a drug ring, but he obviously _was_."

Logan is watching her now, his brown eyes attentive, his posture slumped. Even after her administrations, he still looks in pain.

"Unfortunately for me, I wasn't careful enough and Kyle spotted me. I tried to make up a cover story, but it wasn't enough. He knew that I had heard, and that I would turn him in if I was found. He punched me in the face and when I woke up, I was in a dark room, and I was bound at the hands and feet."

Logan's look turns from curiosity to horror in an instant, and he breathes her name like he can't stop himself.

"I guess I was lucky that Kyle liked me, because if he hadn't he probably would have killed me outright. I spent _two days_ in that dark room before he came in. He was high, and he decided to play a few _games_ with me. At first he just untied me and decided that we were going to play cards, and I didn't know how I could get away. I lost that first game of cards, and he hit me across the mouth for it. After that, he seemed to regret disfiguring my face – and when I lost our games, whether it be board games or cards, he would take to beating up other parts of my body. If I won though, he said the prize was getting a kiss from him. He would kiss me until I couldn't breathe and I nearly passed out from the lack of oxygen. This went on for the next five days."

Logan's eyes aren't sympathetic, but sad and understanding. He knows what it's like to have someone hit you, and damage you beyond repair.

"Then My Dad somehow found me, and that's my sob story. It's nothing compared to what you've gone—"

"It doesn't make your pain any less important," Logan says before she can continue.

"It was just terrible, because I thought he actually liked me. I thought he was falling in love with me like I was falling in love with him. And then he decided that he still loved me, and now he could show me his 'real' side. He could show me how much he loved his games. And I suppose I should be grateful I wasn't raped, but I think he was—" she cuts off, and then begins again, her voice wobbling, "I think he was going to get there any minute."

Logan looks at her for another moment, and then he leans forward and for the second time – he presses his lips to her's.

She knows she should push him away, that she needs to think about this, but she can't help herself. She hasn't felt anything since Kyle – not real emotions, and this is something beautiful.

This is Logan.

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a/n: sorry for the heavy chapter, but it was necessary.


	11. Pretending

Veronica goes back to her dorm room with a huge smile on her face. She and Logan had spent hours on the beach, talking, kissing, flirting – she couldn't believe it. She had not really let a person of the opposite sex (including Piz or her Father) touch her after Kyle, and now she had just _kissed_ Logan Echolls. _Multiple times_.

She and Logan had decided to tell his Dad tomorrow that they were getting married, and that they would like to live together. She wasn't sure how it was going to go over, but all she knew was that it was there best chance at getting Logan out of there. He had seemed nervous while they planned to trick his Father (and in doing so, the _law_) and had even tried to ward her off several times. She knew he was scared that she could possibly get hurt in doing this, but she couldn't just let him continue to live there – merely to be his Father's punching bag. It just wasn't _fair_.

_Of course, _she thought to herself as she tried to get her mind to fall asleep, _life wasn't fair. Just ask Lily Kane._

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The next morning she's awaken by someone knocking at her door. Stretching, she pulls open the door to the sight of Logan holding out a box of donuts.

"Since you're so adamant on pretending to be my fiancée," he says, "I thought I might as well feed you."

She laughs and ushers him into the room (Mac still hasn't returned yet) and grabs a donut from the box. Logan's looking at her weird, his brown eyes open and beautiful.

"What you looking at Echolls?" she asks, jutting out her bottom lip. He laughs.

"You're just," he blushes, "Beautiful in the mornings. I never let myself notice it before."

Veronica smiles, and leans forward to peck him on the lips. "I don't think people usually call me 'beautiful' in the mornings, but thank you." She takes a large bite of her donut, and catches Logan looking at her like he's never seen her before – again. "You know, the staring thing is going to get a bit old."

"I just haven't met anyone – really _been_ with anyone, and no Madison doesn't count – since Lily," he says quickly, "I never thought I would again. But then I saw you sitting on that bench and something _changed_, I don't really know what but –"

"It's okay," Veronica says, reaching out to take his hand. "I didn't really think I could be with anyone else either. So for right now, let's take things slow."

"That might be hard to do considering we're about to pretend to be engaged," he says, wiggling his eyebrows, and she laughs.

"I meant between the two of us. To the rest of the world we can be as serious as they picture us to be."

"So you have thought of that?" Logan asks nervously, "Because my Dad _will _want to tell the tabloids and People – whoever will listen, that I'm getting married."

Veronica hadn't thought of that, and the words sent a spiraling fear through her gut. Still, she smiled as wide as she possibly could and went – "Of course I thought of that!"

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It's the second time Veronica's been to Logan's house, but this time she's wearing a fake ring and knows the truth about who his Father is. Every fiber of her being wishes she could just pull out Mr. Sparky and zap Aaron to hell, but she doesn't think it would hold down well in court.

The ring had been Logan's Mother's and was _real_ (despite her protests). It felt heavy on her finger, like it was weighing her down with the false promise it held.

Logan seemed just as nervous. She was holding his hand, and she could feel that his palms were sweaty, that his fingers were shaking. Some girls would have been grossed out, but Veronica held on with all her might because despite all Logan was steady. He was steadying her nerves.

"We'll be okay," Logan promises her, and something in his brown eyes is lying. She chooses to believe him anyways, and only watches as he fumbles with his key and barely manages to get the door open.

"Dad, I'm home!" he calls, his voice warbling slightly. Veronica squeezes his hand tighter.

"You didn't come home last night," Aaron Echolls' voice is nothing like on television right now, it's hard and angry and dangerous.

"I went to visit someone," Logan says easily, "C'mon Sugarpuss."

Veronica steps into Logan's house, her entire body shaking. Aaron Echolls descends the stairs in front of them, wearing a bathrobe and a forced pleasant expression.

"I didn't know we had company," he says, his voice polite.

"Dad," Logan starts again, "I've been keeping something from you."

Aaron manages only to look mildly interested, but there's something that flickers in his eyes – _insanity_. Veronica shivers, not really wanting his eyes on her at all. How could someone like this be Logan's Father?

"I'm Logan's fiancée," she quickly says, stepping forward with her hand outstretched, "Veronica Mars."

To say Aaron Echolls' was shocked was perhaps an understatement. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, his mouth opening in an astonished gape. They had managed to pull one over his eyes after all.

"Fiancée?" he manages to stutter out, and takes her hand and gives it a hearty shake.

"Yeah, we wanted to keep things quiet until we decided where this was going," Logan says, smiling the best he could. Aaron doesn't dare show his anger in front of Veronica, but instead tries to look the most pleasant he can.

"That's fantastic news son!" he nearly shouts, clapping Logan on the back. Where he's 'given his son a friendly pat' is intentional, Veronica knows that's where the worst of Logan's welts are.

"If you don't mind," Veronica interjects, "We want to keep this as quiet as possible. I know you're so famous –" she laughs nervously, "But I think attention to this might be a little over kill."

"Of course," Aaron says, his eyes guarded. "I'm so happy for you both!"

"That being said," Logan says, obviously wanting to hurry this along. "Veronica and I want to move in together. I know I need your permission before I can go anywhere –"

"Yes, you do," Aaron's smile is forced again. "I don't really see why this needs to be so _soon_."

"Because I'm pregnant," Veronica blurts out off the top of her head. Logan and Aaron both turn their heads to look at her in shock, she gives a small nod to Logan. "I want Logan and I to live together so he can – you know, help me." She tries for a bright happy smile, and Aaron seems to buy it.

"You two are having a baby?" Aaron asks, and Logan steps back and slings an arm around Veronica's shoulder.

"Yeah," Logan says, "And I thought that living together would be best."

"Of course," Aaron says, smiling through gritted teeth. "Why don't you just live here? We have plenty of room."

Veronica laughs nervously. "Oh I couldn't—"

"I insist."

Veronica couldn't think of any protests – it was a large house and there were plenty of rooms, so she just nodded. "Okay." He couldn't hurt Logan if she was in the next room. She wouldn't be leaving Logan alone for a while.

"Great!" Aaron claps his hands, "I can't wait for us all to be a great happy family."

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"What was that?" Logan asks her as soon as they were in the safety of his Xterra, driving off to Veronica's dorm to pick up her stuff.

"He wasn't buying it. He wasn't going to let us move in, so I improvised," she shrugs carelessly, but her hands are trembling on the steering wheel.

"You're not actually pregnant are you?" he asks her seriously, and she knows that he's nervous that she's got some other boy's baby in her belly.

"No," she snorts. "I'm going to have to get those fake baby bumps from the pregnancy store – although hopefully it won't take us _that_ long to shove your Father into jail."

Logan sighs, rolling back his head. "I don't know why I let you do this," he says.

"Because you trust me," Veronica replies easily, "And I trust you. It's not an easy thing for the two of us to do, and it means we've only got each other. I'm not about to let you fall Logan."

He looks over at her then with stars in his eyes. "Pull over," he says suddenly.

"What?!"

"Just pull over the damn car Mars."

She jerks the steering wheel to the side and in the next moment their kissing like they've never kissed before – sloppy and passionate. She forgets everything about taking things slowly and yanks him down on top of her.

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"Where were you today?" Mac asks suspiciously as soon as Veronica enters the room.

"With Logan," Veronica replies. "Okay listen – I'm going to have to stay somewhere else for a few weeks, cover for me with Piz."

"Who are you staying with?"

"Logan," Veronica shrugs, "Don't ask. It would take way to long to explain."

"You're hair is messy and your lips are chapped, "Mac observes, "I think it just explained itself."

Veronica laughs and grabs a duffel bag, shoving all of her important belongings inside.

"I can't keep secrets from you can I?" she asks.

"You'd have to physically hide something from me to not know the truth," Mac jokes. Something clicks in Veronica's brain – something entirely _not _connected with what's been going on today. She says a rushed goodbye to Mac, and nearly sprints out to where Logan's waiting.

"Lily," she says upon greeting as she throws her duffel bag into the backseat. "Did she have any places where she liked to hide things?"

Logan looks at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Did she have any places she hid things?!" Veronica asks more urgently.

"In her air vents – why?"

"Because what if she hid who her lover was in there?" Veronica asks, something like glee creeping into her voice. "And no one found it."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Find out what her secret was, Veronica style."


	12. Stay Safe

a/n: I'm sorry to say that this story is reaching it's conclusion in a few chapters. I am so thankful for everyone who has stuck with this fic and decided to make it worth their time to read. I will hopefully be writing more Logan and Veronica in the future.

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It's her second week of living at the Echolls' abode, and Veronica is getting really sick of pretending to be pregnant.

Of course, she and Logan have made up the excuse that's she's not showing yet, but it's only a matter of time before she will have to get one of those fake bumps from the store, and Veronica isn't quite sure she wants to go _there_. For right now, she's just pretending to throw up every morning before she leaves for school, and makes sure that it's known that onions make her _queasy_. Logan seems to feel guilty, and all he does is try to convince her to go away. _You shouldn't do this for me Ronica, I can take care of myself. _

They both knew that without her he wouldn't be any closer to getting free from this hellish life than she was of winning the lottery.

She tried to spend as much time as possible on campus, and _never_ came back to the house if Logan wasn't there. She didn't want to get any alone time with Aaron – the man was _creepy_. She had always thought so, even when every girl in school had a picture of him taped in their lockers and she went to see his movies with her Dad. There had been something off about his face, she remembers recollecting to her Dad, something _odd_. Her Father had laughed and told her not to worry. He was _just_ an actor.

Just an actor wouldn't do this to their son. What the common people tended to forget was that actor's were real people. Aaron Echolls, as much as she wished he were some bad nightmare – was real. What he was doing to Logan was real.

"Maybe you should go home," Logan says nervously one day, sitting on her bed.

Veronica sighs loudly, rolling her eyes. "Logan. You've said and asked me that a million times. The answer is final – I'm not going home, unless _you_ come with me."

He's quiet for a moment, but relaxed. She leans forward and rests her head on his shoulder, thanking her lucky stars that she has him. He's someone to lean on – someone who can lean on her. His arms slowly but surely move to wrap around her torso, and his face is buried in her hair.

"Thank you," he whispers, and she knows that while he's saying she should go – he's thinking the opposite. She thinks that he needs her as much as she needs him.

"Of course," she says back, "And thank _you_."

It's a dual sort of partnership she supposes, they both are slowly fixing themselves.

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They still do all their casework in Veronica's dorm room, when Mac's not back. While they've started dating and she's living with him now – she can't forget about the case. She can't forget about what drew them together in the first place.

"We can't break into the Kane's house," Veronica shakes her head, "We can't find evidence _that_ way – it wouldn't hold up because it's illegal."

"Well then how are we going to get into her air vents?" Logan asks, stretching out his long limbs on her bed. Veronica is sitting by his head, her eyes tracing over the notes she's taken on the case so far.

"We could ask Duncan to let us in," Veronica suggests, and Logan spits.

"What?!"

"I said, we could ask Duncan Kane. I mean, he's got to have a key or something right?"

"Isn't Duncan our prime suspect?" Logan asks suspiciously, "I mean, if he really did kill Lily, he wouldn't want us to _find_ the potential evidence."

"Duncan Kane seemed to me to be like one of those pushover types," Veronica says, "And I really don't think he remembers. I do think he's telling the truth about that at least."

Logan nods. "Okay, but how are we going to ask him? It's not like he believed me before anyways."

Veronica grins. "Trust me. He will."

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This time, Logan does not wait in the car. Veronica quite forcefully grabs him by the wrist when he tries to stay in the car and drags him after her.

"It'll be fine," she says, "We'll convince him."

She knocks loudly on the door, and just as she was hoping – Duncan answers, not his girlfriend.

"Duncan Kane?" she asks, and then takes a fake private detective badge out of her bag, "I'm a private detective working for Logan Echolls. I have reason to believe you might be the real culprit."

"Culprit?" Duncan looks confused, but she can tell it's an act. He knows exactly why she's here.

"For killing Lily Kane," Veronica says, glaring. "I have some very convincing evidence, and the only thing that can prove your evidence is something inside your sister's room."

"My sister's room? Me killing her? Are you _crazy_?"

"No," Veronica snaps, "I am a goddamn genius. Now do you want me to take my evidence to the police or do you want to see inside her room?"

"The police went over everything anyways, you're not going to find anything."

"Do you remember Duncan," Logan says, stepping in. "how Lily used to hide things in her air vents?"

Something in Duncan's face changes, and suddenly Veronica hopes that it wasn't Duncan that killed her. She has no qualms at accusing Duncan of being dangerous, but he seems actually _sad_ about his sister's passing.

"You really want to see what's in my sister's air vents?" Duncan asks, "And if there's evidence to prove I'm guilty—"

"We'll move on to another suspect," Veronica promises. "Please Mr. Kane."

"Fine," Duncan nods, "I'll let you into my parents house, but Logan's not coming."

"What?" Logan visibly bristles.

"There's a party tonight, and I can make up the excuse that Veronica is Meg's friend," there is a sort of pride as Duncan looks at Logan, like he's rubbing his perfect plan, his perfect _life_, in his face. "She can come with me."

"There is no way-"

"I'll take your offer," Veronica says automatically. "I'll meet you –"

"I'll pick you up," Duncan offers with a smug smile, and part of Veronica wonders what this is really about. It was almost like he was trying to be a dick to Logan by helping with this case, like he wanted her to view him as the perfect golden boy too.

"This will be really helpful Lo," she says softly, standing on her tip toes so she can press a gentle kiss to his lips. _Take that Duncan fucking Kane. _

It's true that when she pulls away, Duncan is looking a little stunned, and maybe disappointed? It doesn't really matter – Veronica's smug either way.

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"Will you do something for me?" Veronica asks later that night, as she twirls in front of Logan's mirror – wearing a silky black number that they found in Lynn's closet. It was brand new, had never been worn. The woman was only slightly bigger than Veronica, nothing that couldn't be fixed with a few bobby pins.

"Anything," Logan says, his eyes watching her intently.

"Get out of the house," Veronica says, "Go hang out with Dick or surf or _anything_ that's legal so you're not caught at home alone."

"I'm going to sit in a diner, waiting for you to call for me to be the dashing prince and save you from Duncan's evil clutches," Logan tells her plainly, holding up his phone. Veronica smiles.

"Just keep well caffeinated," she advises, patting him on the head.

"_Please_ stay safe Ronnie," Logan whispers suddenly, "You're the only one – the only person who –" he fights for the right words, and she can see that he's really _tryin_g. "The only person who believed me."

Veronica isn't sure what she's supposed to say to this, so instead she just smiles and leans in to kiss him softly. "I always stay safe."

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Duncan seems more subdued when he picks her up, and Veronica slides into the passenger seat, self consciously adjusting her hair. Duncan Kane is weak, smug, and she's decided –a _jackass_. She's not looking forward to this evening, but it's for Logan.

"You look nice," Duncan offers.

"Thank you," she says quietly.

"So are you dating Logan now?"

"I suppose so," Veronica murmurs. Aaron hasn't told the public of their 'engagement' yet, so Veronica figures it's pretty much safe to assume that she and Logan are dating.

"Don't break his heart okay?" Duncan asks suddenly, jerking the wheel onto a long road, "He's had enough shit happen to him already."

"I won't," Veronica says, "Logan doesn't deserve anymore bullshit."

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The party is everything Veronica hates. It's fancy people in fancy dresses, holding fancy glasses and talking in fancy voices. It's an overwhelming contrast to the life she's lived all her life, and she can already tell that she's not fit for the world of the rich. Duncan introduces her as Veronica Mars, an interested friend who wanted to see what the Kane house looked like from the inside.

Veronica can hear people whispering already, wondering if Duncan was dumping Meg for her – etc. It made her sick, and part of her hoped that these rumors never reached Logan's ears. She never would dump Logan for _Duncan_. No matter how fucked-up Logan was.

"Can we go up to Lily's room?" Veronica hisses in Duncan's ear after thirty minutes of polite torture. Duncan looks amused, like she's lasted as long as he expected her to, and Veronica has to refrain from socking him in the jaw.

"You know what people are going to say," Duncan says in an undertone, and Veronica sneers in his direction.

"And when we figure out who killed Lily, we can disprove all those rumors. Just come _on_."

Duncan sighs in resignation, and leads her up a nearly hidden staircase into a hallway full of bedrooms. He stops in front of one that has the letter's LILY on it in blockish pink letters. "This is it," he says, swinging open the door.

It's creepy. It's almost like the girl who died long ago is going to walk in at any second, it's so perfectly preserved. Clothes are strewn over the backs of chairs and across the bed, perfume bottles and makeup containers lay open on a vanity table – even a broken picture of Lily and Logan is lying across the dresser. Veronica steps closer to it, not touching it but observing the happy carefree look Logan was giving Lily – nothing like the one he had given her before she left for the party. Losing a girlfriend could make you more cautious that way she supposes.

"There's the air vent," Duncan says, and points to a small metal frame in the wall. Veronica is wary to touch anything in the room, to break the spell that seems to have been cast over the room, but Duncan shoves a chair over to the wall anyways. Veronica climbs up, and jostles the cover free. It's loose, like someone's put it back in place in a hurry.

Veronica reaches in and pulls out a thick stack of letters, covered in a messy boyish scrawl. _To Lily, from Logan. _She carefully sets those down at her feet, taking notice of the few letters that _weren't _in Logan's handwriting. She peers more intently into the air vent, and spots something lingering in the back, like it's been shoved back there intentionally. She reaches in and takes ahold of whatever it is.

"Are these…" she says, a crease appearing in-between her eyes as she frowns down at the objects, "Tapes?"


	13. Oh Veronica!

warning: Aaron Echolls. I think that's all I really have to say…Also sorry for the short chapter, but I think it's going to be fine

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"Why would Lily have tapes in there?" Duncan asks, peering over her shoulder at the small plastic objects she has clutched in her hand. Veronica looks down at the stack of letters, and then back at the tapes.

"Do you have a tape player?" Veronica asks, and Duncan nods.

"Lily has one in here," he says, and holds out his hand. Veronica hands him the tapes, and watches as he inserts them into the small TV.

The picture fades into view slowly, the picture full of static. It slowly fades into clarity, and she hears Duncan suck in a breath. She doesn't blame him – they're seeing Lily Kane hours before she was murdered.

"Is that Logan's pool house?" this is the part Veronica's more interested in, and she steps closer to the television. She and Logan _had_ been in that room in the last few weeks, if only to play some video games on the nice TV. They hadn't been lying directly on the bed…

Lily Kane is. She's sprawled against the sheets, her blonde hair spread out, her eyes staring playfully at the ceiling. "_Come on lover_!" she calls impatiently, her voice bright. _Was she with Logan?_

Lily Kane looks up at the ceiling, her eyes suddenly curious and excited. She stands up on the bed, her hands reaching to brush against the surface of the camera. "_You naughty boy_," she whispers.

"I'm going to kill Logan," Duncan growls, but Veronica's hand shoots out and grasps his wrist before he can move.

"Let's go a little further back in time," she says, and Duncan obliges, smashing his finger against the remote and fast-forwarding back a couple days. He stops the picture just at the shot of Lily, arching up, and the very _obvious_ sounds of sex.

"Oh god," Duncan whispers, mortified, and covers his face with his hands.

_Please don't be Logan, _Veronica begged silently, she wasn't sure if she would be able to face him after that. Lily Kane rolls over, and her lover came into view. Duncan presses pause, and Veronica's mouth drops open.

Aaron Echolls is plainly in view, and Veronica suddenly feels like she's going to be sick. Her brain is putting together the facts though, sliding them together like puzzle pieces.

"I know what happened," she whispers, "Aaron killed Lily."

"_Aaron Echolls_?" Duncan looks incredulous.

"If Lily found these tapes – if they got leaked, Aaron's career would be over."

"But Aaron Echolls isn't violent –" Duncan protests, and Veronica whirls on him, her anger rising.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she asks him honestly, "Haven't you seen the scars on Logan's back?" she knows that Logan should probably be the one to tell Duncan this – but she's so angry now. So angry at Duncan fucking Kane, who obviously thinks his former best friend is crazy.

"Those are from Aaron?" Duncan looks stunned, and Veronica impatiently tears the tape out of the TV.

"I've got to get these to the police station as soon as possible," Veronica says, "Listen, I need to borrow your car."

"Can I come with you?"

"No."

Veronica doesn't let him protest, she takes his car keys out of his pocket and marches out the door.

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Once inside the car, Veronica pulls out her phone and dials Logan's number. It rings and rings, and finally he picks up.

"Sorry, I fell asleep in the diner," he says, "What's up?"

"Aaron killed Lily," she says without pause, "She had tapes of them having sex –you know what he will do to keep his career intact. He killed her because he didn't know where the tapes were, I have them right now."

"You do?" Logan demands, and there is a frantic edge to his voice. "Where are you Veronica? If Aaron finds out you have these-"

"I'm heading towards the police station in Duncan's –"

That's when she spots the person sitting in her backseat.

"I would hang up the phone if I were you," Aaron says slowly, and Veronica drops it onto her lap. Aaron climbs into the front seat, and takes her phone and chucks it out the window. "I'm guessing you were talking to my son?" he sneers.

"You stay away from him," Veronica warns, and Aaron grins wolfishly.

"I don't know who you think you are little girl," he snarls, "But I don't think you or my son is going to survive the night."

Veronica doesn't hesitate. She jerks the wheel to the right, sending the car shooting towards a row of trees, headlights flashing. She reaches for her door handle and just manages to yank it open and tumble out before the car hits the trees. She hits the dirt with a thud, her eyes seeing stars as her head cracks against a rock. Still, she's conscious.

Her limbs are heavy, her entire body twitching in pain. She slowly places her hands in front of her, propping her knees up and shoving herself to her feet. Her head spins and she turns and vomits – her stomach a roiling mess. _The tapes_, she remembers distantly, _I still need the tapes_.

Her feet stumble towards the car, and she grabs for her bag, sliding it out of the car and over her shoulder. Aaron is slumped over, but he's twitching. He's alive. Veronica starts to stumble back towards the road, she needs to get out of here before he regains consciousness. She needs to get out of here before he can hurt Logan anymore.

Of course, now she no longer has a phone, which could prove potentially problematic. Still, she speeds up her pace, walking quicker and quicker down the road. She needs to get out of here now.

Everything seems dark, and something inside her is slowly breaking as silent tears slip down her cheeks in a panic. She had promised herself after Kyle that she wouldn't get involved in anymore things like this, and yet here she was – running down the road to get away from a psychopath.

Or is she running? Everything seems blurry and her legs aren't moving as fast as she wants them to.

"Oh _Veronica_!" she can hear Aaron Echolls call out, and fear spirals through her. Reaching into her pocket, she tosses one of the tapes into the forest, and shoves the other two down a tree trunk that's fallen adjacent to the road. No matter what, she can't let him find them.

She tries to move quicker, but dizziness overcomes her and she falls to her knees, retching. _Why is she even still trying? It's not like she's going to make it out of this one – she's in close proximity with a murderer. _

Logan's face hovers to her mind suddenly, looking at her with one of his genuine smiles, the corner of his mouth lifting up, his brown eyes staring down at her. _I have to keep going, _she promises herself, dragging herself to her knees. She needs to keep fighting, for Logan. He can't lose someone else.

"There you are Ms. Mars," Aaron's voice is right behind her now, but it sounds off somehow – maybe his brain was fuzzy too from the crash? It doesn't stop his hands from grabbing her hair at it's roots, and ripping it brutally upwards.

Her legs are pinned underneath her, and with the other hand Aaron Echolls grasps both her wrists.

She's trapped.

"Now," he hisses into her ear, "Where are the tapes?"


	14. Together

(There is only one...possibly two? Chapters left.)

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"Go to hell," Veronica hisses, and Aaron yanks harder on the roots of her hair, making a gasp of pain escape from her mouth.

"I'm going to ask you again, nicely," Aaron repeats, "Where are the tapes?"

"You'll never find them," she coughs, "I hid them somewhere you'll never guess. So _there_ you fucking _bastard_."

(Maybe hitting her head makes her a little more aggressive. )

"So tell me Veronica," he snarls, shoving her forward so that her body collapses against the ground. She struggles to her feet, her head even dizzier than before. "Did you ever really love my son? Or was it all just a cover to find out who really killed Lily Kane?"

"I love Logan more than you ever did," Veronica spits, wiping red from her nose. She wasn't aware of when it started bleeding, but it didn't matter right now.

"Logan is my son."

"And you're a jackass," Veronica shrugs, "What else is there to say?"

"You little bitch," Aaron seems to be on the verge of losing it, and Veronica knows that she should back off, make sure he doesn't lose control on _her_. She can't help it though, because even through her muddled thoughts she can see Logan's scarred back and that isn't something she can just _forget_.

"So tell me," Veronica says, backing up. "Why did you sleep with Lily Kane? Why did you hurt Logan even more than you already have?" she's angrier than she's ever been in her entire life, filling her to the brim with a fiery passion.

"I have never done anything but love Logan," Aaron says, and the sick part is – Veronica can hear that he really thinks that. He really believes that he's done nothing to hurt his son. He believes that the scars on his son's body mean nothing – and it makes her want to vomit and hit him all at once.

She settles for the latter, lunging forward with her fist outstretched, her knuckles slamming into his jaw. Her Dad taught her how to throw a punch long ago, and despite her dizziness and foggy mind, it still manages to send him falling to the ground.

"Take that," she whispers, mostly to herself, and then turns, trying to run – to get away.

Aaron's hand shoots out and closes around her ankle, and she topples, falling forward and slamming against the ground.

"I'm going to kill you," he whispers, "I'm going to kill you right here and now."

Veronica considers screaming for help, but there's no one. She's going to die alone in this cold road by this cold forest, and then Logan would go after Aaron. He would die too. Maybe it's the last thought that motivates her, but she twists her ankle free of Aaron's grip and reaches for a rock just in sight.

Her fingers just manage to close around it, and she whips it back and slams it into Aaron Echolls face. He howls in pain as it connects with skin, and Veronica is stumbling to her feet once more, trying to get away.

"HELP ME!" she screams, "PLEASE! ANYONE!"

Aaron is stirring on the ground, her weakened strength doing nothing to really damage him.

"I'm really going to—" Aaron starts, and then was cut off by the sickening sound of someone punching him.

Veronica whirls around, and suddenly he's standing there, in his long sleeves and jeans. "Logan?"

"Veronica," he says, relief clear in his voice. "You're not-"

"_Logan_," she sobs, stepping forward with her arms outstretched. He gets to her quickly and wraps his arms around her, his eyes not leaving his Father's body as he gently rocks her back and forth.

"I called the police," he whispers, "They'll be here soon. I'm so sorry – I'm so sorry."

"Logan…?" Aaron suddenly mutters from the ground, trying to stand up. Unfortunately for him, multiple blows to the head made it very hard to do anything else, and it doesn't look like he's getting up anytime soon. "Son..?"

"Go to hell," Logan whispers, pressing his face against Veronica's hair all the sudden, and she can feel tears dripping into her hair.

"It's okay now," she whispers, even though she doesn't know that it's really going to be okay, "It's all going to be okay now."

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She falls asleep sometime between the hospital and the forest, and when she wakes up again, it's to the sight of her Father sleeping by her bedside.

"Dad?" she asks in a croaky sort of voice and his eyes fly open at once.

"Veronica," he breaths, leaning forward to envelop her in a hug. She presses her face into his shoulder, trying to not clutch at him like a lifeline. "You did it. You caught the killer."

"I did," she laughs weakly, "That'll be a great thing to put on my resume." He pulls back to look at her sternly.

"You aren't going to investigate any more murders are you?" he asks her seriously, "Because if Logan hadn't gotten there in time—"

"Logan," Veronica sat up, "Where's Logan?"

Keith looks defeated. "I don't know," he says, "No one can find him."

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No one can find him, and yet Veronica can when she finally get's released from the hospital – diagnosed with a concussion and told to 'take it easy' as well long list of other things to look for.

Her Father wasn't planning on letting her out of his sight, but she made that rather easy by pretending to go sleep and then sneaking out the window and calling Wallace to drive her to the beach. He was going to be pissed off when he woke up, but at this moment she couldn't really care less. Logan was missing – and she wasn't about to let him just be gone.

He's at Dog Beach, and in the back of her mind she wonders how long he's been sitting there, just staring at the waves with no one to voice his thoughts on.

"Hey," she says softly, kicking off her shoes and sitting next to him.

"I thought you weren't—" he begins, but she cuts him off.

"What are you doing here Logan?" she asks him.

"Watching the waves."

"You know," Veronica nudges him with her shoulder, "Maybe you could teach me how to surf."

"So are we just going to pretend like this never happened?" he asks her, and through his voice she can hear the start of tears.

"We can talk about this," Veronica shrugs, "I just didn't think you would want to."

"How can we not talk about this? My Dad tried to _kill_ you."

"Let me get one thing straight Logan," she says, turning to him, "I don't care about what happened to me. It was terrible, but it doesn't matter. I'll get over it. You though, I'm worried about."

"Don't worry about me Veronica," he says, turning back to the ocean, "I'm not worth that."

"You're wrong," she whispers, "You're worth more than anything else. You got that Logan? I wouldn't have done this case – free of charge I might add – for just _anyone._ But I did it for you."

"Why?"

"Because you're just as fucked up as I am," she answers easily, "And we fit together that way. I don't want you to think anything that happened to Lily, you, or me, is your fault."

He looks at her, and his brown eyes are so very far away, but also so open and vulnerable.

"Then why?" he asks, "Why did it happen if it wasn't my fault?"

"That's just how the world works," she shrugs, "We don't always deserve what we get. But this right now Logan – finding this out about your Dad, seeing him in prison – this is your new start. This is your chance to heal."

"You really think so?"

"I know so," she nods, "And I know you might not believe me right now, so I'm going to do everything I can to prove that you're one of the good ones."

She leans in then, thinking that there's really nothing else that needs to be said, and kisses him. He hesitates at first, like he's nervous of hurting her, but he gently kisses her back.

She didn't realize she wasn't over what had happened to her until she met Logan, and realized that in order to get past it, she needed to find someone new. She needed to find someone who could make her smile and feel special again – like she hadn't in ages.

Logan was someone she had to help, because he had already helped her in so many ways.


End file.
